


One Letter Coffee

by andreag01



Series: One Letter Coffee [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-20 18:19:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 26,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16142855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andreag01/pseuds/andreag01
Summary: Kim Junmyeon works at a coffee shop on a busy street in the middle of the capital, Seoul. He gets dozens of costumers everyday, but no one stands out like the tall guy showing up every morning, claiming his name is just one letter.One different letter each day.Who names their child ‘D’ anyway?





	1. Chapter 1

Kim Junmyeon was always the first one to arrive and the last to leave. Seven o’clock on the dot everyday, except on Sunday which was the only day he allowed himself to take a day off, he opened the coffee shop. After turning the lights on he went straight to the back where he removed his big coat and cozy scarf, hanging them on the coat hangers on the wall beside the door leading back to the front of the now lit coffee shop. He grabbed the apron from one of the other hooks, dark brown with the logo on it, a little coffee cup and a cookie, along with his name that was sewn onto the fabric with white thread. 

 

He’d done it himself. Both the logo design and the names written in cursive on the chest pocket. He liked making things himself. Hence he opened his own coffee shop. He got to make things and design things as simple as the name and logo on an apron or bigger things like where the furniture were to be placed. 

 

In the beginning it had just been him. It had been fun. He got to make everything himself, the coffee, the food. He could do whatever he wanted. He picked out and ordered all the furniture on his own, painted the walls, created the logo, etc. It was fun. It’s what he wanted to do.

It eventually got very stressful though. It was a busy street with a lot of people needing their morning coffee and a snack in their lunch breaks. He was only one man and he was running back and forth all day, switching between brewing the coffee, standing behind the cash register and making whatever he was out of. 

He needed employees. If he continued like that he was going to get grey hair by thirty. 

 

He made the poster by hand, hanging it up on the door so anyone who were interested could see it as they entered. Everything on the piece of paper was written in clear, neat writing and he added the logo in the top left corner.

 

It took a few days before anyone asked for a job. He often checked to make sure the poster was still there, worried it had blown away or someone had taken it just to mess with him. But no, it was still there. He was on his way back to the counter after checking once more when he heard the door opening and the bell ringing.

"Are you still looking for people to work here?"

 

He turned around, a small smile on his face, happy someone finally asked. He didn’t have to do everything himself now. Finally he had a chance to breathe a little, maybe take a little break once in a while. 

 

Junmyeon nodded. "I am. Here." He walked over to a table, pulling out a chair. "Take a seat. I have a form you can fill out. Just a second." He didn’t even give the guy time to answer before he disappeared into the back of the shop. 

He returned a few minutes later with a paper and a pen in his hand. The guy was sitting by the table now, his jacket draped over the back of the chair and his beanie on the table in front of him. "Here you go." He handed the form to him before sitting down on the opposite side of the table. 

"Thank you." 

 

The guy didn’t look that old. Early twenties probably, maybe younger. Perhaps he was a student? 

 

"Here." The guy pushed the paper over to him along with the pen and he picked it up. Kim Jongdae, 22 years old, university student, music major, has worked in a couple of shops before. 

Junmyeon looked up from the paper, realising he hadn’t even introduced himself to Jongdae. He had just greeted him by handing him a form. He held out his hand for the younger to shake. "I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce myself", he said, smiling at him as Jongdae grabbed his hand. "I’m Junmyeon. Kim Junmyeon, the owner of this coffee shop."

"Nice to meet you, Junmyeon. I’m Jongdae." 

 

Jongdae might’ve not had much experience when it came to baking or brewing coffee, but he was a quick learner. He needed a lot of help in the beginning obviously, like with where everything was, all the different recipes and all of that, but in just the matter of a few weeks, he was standing in the back, baking those cookies like he hadn’t done anything else in his life. 

He was great behind the cash register too. He had a charming smile and he was always happy and polite. The customers seemed to love him. He sometimes cracked some jokes too. He was overall a great employee and Junmyeon had no regrets hiring him. 

 

It was just the two of them for a while. The poster was still hanging there as he entered the coffee shop an early Friday morning. It was a little wet though. It had been raining all night. 

Looking at his watch, he saw that he still had almost ten minutes left before he had to open. He spent those ten minutes getting everything ready, making sure all the food was there and nothing was missing, the tables were clean and the fridge of soda, water and juice was filled. Once everything was ready and the clock hit seven, he finally opened and went back over to the counter. 

Jongdae arrived just half an hour later. He’d only work a few hours before he’d leave for his classes that day though, leaving Junmyeon alone during the busiest hours. He’d come back by four, or was it five, though to work another hour or so.

 

It was still a little stressful. Obviously a little less now that he had Jongdae, but he was a student. He had classes and could only work a few hours a day.

Another employee or two would’ve been nice.

Maybe the poster flew away?


	2. Chapter 2

No one asked for work for a long time. Well not that long, maybe a few weeks or so. The poster was still there, a little bit more wet than last time he checked. It was still understandable though so Junmyeon left it like it was. 

 

He was just about to unlock the door when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned his head, glancing over his shoulder as he pulled his keys back, shoving them into the pocket of his coat. A guy was standing there. He must’ve been around his age, or maybe younger. He was really tall though and he had to tilt his head back ever so slightly to look at his face. 

"Hi. I’m Chanyeol", the tall guy said, a big smile on his face. "I saw you were hiring. Do you still need people?", he asked, pointing to the slightly wet paper behind Junmyeon. 

"Yes. I do actually. Do you want to come in?", he asked, turning around to open the door. Chanyeol followed him inside and Junmyeon quickly switched the lights on and went to get him a form to fill out.

 

Chanyeol was leaning against the counter when he came back a moment later. He took the pen and paper handed to him and went over to the closest table, sitting down. Junmyeon took the opportunity to go take off his coat and get his apron while Chanyeol was filling out the form. He took a look at his watch before sitting down by the table. He was supposed to have opened the shop almost ten minutes ago. 

 

"Here you go", Chanyeol said, handing him the paper and the pen. "Thanks." Junmyeon looked through everything he had written. "Are you the owner?" He looked up from the filled out form. "Yeah. I am, but I’m not the only one here", he replied. "There’s another employee. He’ll be here soon actually and you’re welcome to stay and meet him if you want?"

"So I got the job?" 

 

"I don’t see why you shouldn’t get the job, you’re apparantly a good chef and you’ve worked in a restaurant before, so why not?" Junmyeon flashed him a smile before getting up. 

Realising he once again had forgotten to introduce himself, he sat back down and held out his hand. "I’m Kim Junmyeon."

 

Chanyeol was indeed a good chef, or a baker for that matter. Those sandwiches he made looked really good and Junmyeon was really close to taking one, but obviously he didn’t. They were for the paying customers. The younger must’ve noticed him eyeing the sandwiches on the tray beside Chanyeol who was currently cutting up some tomatoes, because he was looking at him with an eyebrow raised. "You hungry?"

Junmyeon shook his head, looking back down at the dough in front of him. "No. The sandwiches just looked really good. They look fancy", he replied, grabbing the rolling pin. "How long did you say you worked at that restaurant?"

"A year or so." Chanyeol grabbed the now full tray, carrying it out to the front of the coffee shop before returning a moment later. "It was a pretty fancy place so everything had to look perfect and expensive. I made a lot of sandwiches there too so I guess making fancy sandwiches is a habit."

"They look a lot better than they did when I made them, that’s for sure."

 

Junmyeon liked Chanyeol. He was not only a good chef and baker, but he was funny and really nice to talk to. He always looked forward to see Chanyeol, and Jongdae of course. Jongdae and Chanyeol got along pretty well too. They had similar personalities and were almost the same age. 

He had wanted employees, not really caring if they were his best friends as long as he could work with them and they were good at their job, but he ended up getting some friends too. Not necessarily friends he hung out with at his apartment or went out with every weekend, but he still counted them as his friends. They saw each other everyday at work, they sat and talked about everything that came to mind whenever they got to take a break. They even had a group chat.

 

Thursdays were always the least busy day. Junmyeon didn’t know why. There just weren’t that many customers that day at certain times. Probably because everyone was working and everyone had gotten their morning coffee already. Other than that, Junmyeon had no clue why it always got so peaceful that day. Not that he complained. The three of them got to finally sit down and take a break for once. The food was ready by the counter, all the tables were clean and the fridge was full. There wasn’t much else to do than sit and wait. 

 

The three took the opportunity to have their lunch break. They didn’t really have a certain time they ate lunch. They just grabbed a bite whenever they could really. 

The coffee shop was nearly empty. A couple of people were enjoying some coffee or one of Chanyeol’s sandwiches with their laptops in front of them, but other than that it was just the three of them. It was nice. 

"And our English professor has no idea what he’s doing most of the time. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even speak any English", Jongdae said, mouth full of food. "He just reads straight from the book. He hasn’t taught us anything." 

"Why do you even take English?", Chanyeol asked, taking a sip from his glass of water. "Aren’t you a music major? Do you need to take English?" Jongdae swallowed before speaking. "I want to learn English. I want to understand what all my favourite songs are about", he said. "And if I learn English, it’ll be easier to sing English songs, but how am I supposed to learn when our professor doesn’t even know anything?" 

Junmyeon had just finished his lunch when he heard the bell, signalising someone was entering the coffee shop. He was the first one out of the three to get up, walking over to the counter, ready to take the person’s order. The other two quickly finished their own lunches and started tidying the table. 

"Hello. Welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop, what can I get you?", Junmyeon asked with a polite smile, looking up at the guy in front of him. He must’ve been even taller than Chanyeol, and Chanyeol was really tall. He looked older than Chanyeol though, by at least a few years. He looked very intimidating, unlike a Chanyeol who looked like the nicest person ever with his big ears and goofy smile. Not only was the guy tall and intimidating, but he almost looked angry with those eyebrows. Hopefully he wasn’t one of those cranky customers that were never satisfied with what they ordered or the service, and complained to him about it. 

The tall, intimidating guy took a look at the menu on the wall behind Junmyeon, who took a tiny step to the side in case he was standing in the way of something. The guy looked back over at him. "I don’t know." I don’t know? Junmyeon opened his mouth to ask. "What do you recommend?", the guy asked. 

Junmyeon glanced at the menu. "Well.. It depends on what you want", he started. "Like.. Do you want something to eat or drink?", he asked. "I want whatever you recommend. What do you like-." The guy glanced down at the name sewn onto Junmyeon’s apron. "-Suho?" Junmyeon looked at him with an eyebrow raised. 

"Uh.. Well.. I guess.." He took another look at the menu, not sure what to pick. What if he picked something the guy didn’t like? "My coworker makes really nice sandwiches", he said, pointing to the tray with said sandwiches. "And my other coworker makes good hot cocoa, but we also have a lot of good lattes and coffees." 

The guy nodded. "What about you?", he asked, earning a confused look from Junmyeon. "Me? What about me?" He pointed to the menu. "What do you make that’s really good?" 

 

Junmyeon opened his mouth to speak, but Jongdae beat him to it, appearing beside him out of nowhere. "He’s insanely good at making Lavender Vanilla Latte", he said, pointing to a smaller menu on the counter. "Which is one of our specials by the way", he added. "We call it LaVa. Suho here can even draw you a lavender or something on your cup if you want." 

"Jongdae.. Let him pick what to get himself." Jongdae completely ignored him, already in the process of finding Junmyeon a cup and a pen. "I’ll take a Lavender-, LaVa, then", the tall guy on the other side of the counter said, watching Jongdae shove a plastic cup with a pen in it into Junmyeon’s hands. 

"Are you sure? You can get something else. Something you want", Junmyeon said, taking the pen out of the cup. "I’m sure. I’m interested in tasting this LaVa", the guy replied. 

"Okay." Junmyeon nodded. "Anything else?", he asked. "No, thank you." Junmyeon nodded once more, turning around. "Wait." He was about to go make this guy his latte, but stopped, turning back around. "Yes?"

 

"I’d also like a drawing like that guy told me about. Of a lavender." Junmyeon glanced over at Jongdae who was in the middle of cleaning a table on the other side of the coffee shop. He must’ve heard what the guy said because he looked back at Junmyeon, nodding while giving him a thumbs up. 

 

"Yeah. Sure."


	3. Chapter 3

The tall, intimidating, but not that intimidating anymore since he seemed nice, guy didn’t come back the next couple of days. Perhaps he had gone home? His Korean had been a little off and he had made some grammatical mistakes, so he must’ve been foreign. Maybe Japanese? He did look like he could’ve been Japanese. 

 

"Hey, Junmyeon." He looked up from the table he was currently cleaning, but continued rubbing at a coffee stain that was being really stubborn, refusing to go away. "Yes?" He eyed the wet paper in the student’s hand. "What’s that?"

"I found this on the ground outside. I think it’s the poster", Jongdae replied, tossing the ruined poster into the trash can by the door. "I could go make a new one if you want?", he suggested, unzipping his coat as he walked through the shop towards the back. "No, it’s fine. I’ll do it."

 

"Wow. Your handwriting is so pretty." Junmyeon looked up from the paper. "Is it readable?", he asked. Jongdae nodded. "Yeah. How are you so good at this? It looks so nice. Now no one will be able to resist working here."

"I don’t think a nice poster is going to convince anyone to work here, Jongdae, but thanks." He looked back down and continued writing. "I did a lot of arts and crafts as a kid."

"I can barely draw a circle, let alone make a poster this nice. You’re really talented."

 

The guy came back just a few minutes past seven the next Tuesday. Junmyeon and Chanyeol were the only ones at work, while Jongdae was most likely in class or on his way to class. 

Chanyeol was the one by the counter this time as Junmyeon was busy cleaning a table. He picked up the mugs, placing them on the trolley along with the plates before he moved on to the next table. It was on his way to the back that he noticed who Chanyeol was talking to. He stopped for a moment, taking a look at him. He was at least a few centimetres taller than Chanyeol. His posture was straight and he almost looked like a model where he stood. 

Maybe he was a model? He certainly had the face and body for it. 

 

Realising he was just standing there, staring, he continued walking, pushing the trolley to the back of the coffee shop. He did steal a glance at the tall guy’s face though. Yeah, he had to be a model. There’s no way he wasn’t.

A few minutes later, Chanyeol entered the back as well, followed by Jongdae. "Hey. How was class?", he asked as he noticed the two. "Pretty great actually", the student replied, taking off his coat and replacing it with his apron. "Wrote a paper on musical history the other day. Got an A."

"Really? That’s great!", Junmyeon exclaimed. "I know. First A of the year in that class, probably the last as well." 

"Don’t say that. I’m sure you’ll get many A’s this year." Jongdae flashed him a smile. "Aw. Thanks, mom. You’re always so supportive", he teasingly said and Junmyeon rolled his eyes and chuckled. 

 

Chanyeol placed the nearly empty tray of chocolate chip cookies down and proceeded to make a new batch. "That guy was here a little while ago", he said, rolling up his sleeves. "The tall, angry looking one?", Jongdae asked. 

"Yeah. He didn’t ask for Jun’s specialty though." Jongdae let out a laugh. "Aww. Was it that bad?" Junmyeon looked at him with an eyebrow raised, placing the pen down. "I’m kidding. It tastes great. He probably didn’t want Chanyeol to make it."

"What did he order then?", Junmyeon couldn’t help but ask. He could swear he saw a grin on Jongdae’s face, but he didn’t say anything about it. 

 

"A sandwich and a regular coffee to go", Chanyeol said. "He said his name was Kris."

"Kris?" Jongdae leaned against the door frame. "Doesn’t sound Korean." Chanyeol shrugged. "Could be a nickname, but he didn’t sound Korean. He could be American? Kris is an American name right?"

 

Kris. That was a nice name. A nice name for a nice face. It didn’t sound Japanese. Maybe he was American like Chanyeol said? It did sound American. 

 

"Do you guys wanna go do something after work?", Jongdae asked after a while of just standing there, waiting for Junmyeon returning from hanging up the new poster. "We never hang out."

Chanyeol looked up and nodded. "Sure. What about you, Jun?" 

 

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" 

 

Junmyeon closed the coffee shop earlier than he would that day. Around an hour early to be exact. Chanyeol and Jongdae stood under an umbrella, waiting for Junmyeon to lock the door. It was going to rain a lot that week and he hoped he’d put enough tape on so the poster would stick and not blow away.

"Ready to go?", Jongdae asked and Junmyeon nodded, shoving the keys into the pocket of his raincoat. Chanyeol started walking, and as he was the one holding the umbrella, Jongdae was left in the rain. "Hey! My hair!" He quickly walked after him, using his hands to protect himself from the rain. 

 

They arrived at the restaurant, a Chinese one to to be specific, just a few minutes minutes later. Jongdae’s hair was wet as Chanyeol had purposely walked faster so the student had to run after him. Once Jongdae had started running, Chanyeol had as well, laughing as Jongdae followed, cursing at him for being such a mean person and telling him he was regretting asking him to come. 

Junmyeon had to run after them, not wanting to be left behind. He had no clue where this restaurant was after all. It was pretty funny to watch the two though and he was regretting not asking them to hang out before. 

 

"They have really good food here. You’ll love it." Chanyeol walked inside, Jongdae and Junmyeon following right after. "You’re so mean", Jongdae whined, running a hand through his hair. "My hair’s all wet. If it drips and I get hairspray in my eyes now, I’m hitting you with that umbrella."

"How about we just go and order?", Junmyeon suggested, walking past the two. "What do you recommend, Chanyeol?"

 

"Everything really. Everything they make here is good. I think the owner is Chinese." Chanyeol led the two over to a table. "Let’s look at the menu and I’ll show you some of my favourites."

They sat and chatted for a moment before a waiter showed up with three menu’s. Chanyeol pointed to a few dishes that looked really good and Junmyeon wanted to try them all, but he ended up just choosing one. "So this is like a legit Chinese restaurant?", Jongdae asked, looking through his menu. "Yeah. As far as I know", Chanyeol replied. "The food is good at least."

 

The waiter returned a few minutes later once they had decided what to get. He took their orders and left with the menus to go get them drinks. "I’m starving", Jongdae complained. "And my hair is still wet." He turned his head towards Chanyeol, glaring at him. "Thanks for that, Chanyeol."

"No problem. The wet look suits you." Junmyeon chuckled, taking of his raincoat as he released he was still wearing it. He was really regretting not hanging out with the two before. 

 

As they waited for their food to arrive, they sat and listened to Jongdae complaining about school again. "I have like five tests next week and several papers due Friday. They don’t let us breathe for like two seconds before they give us something else to do." 

Chanyeol wasn’t really paying attention. He had his chin in his palm and was looking at his phone. He had nothing against the student, but sometimes when he started talking it seemed like he never stopped. 

Junmyeon was listening though, leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. "And our English professor-. Finally. Food’s here." 

"Oh, thank God." Chanyeol placed his phone down. "You’re just jealous I have an interesting life", Jongdae said. "Sure."

 

"Oh! You got soup dumplings? Can I have one?", Jongdae asked, looking over at Junmyeon’s food. "Yeah. Go ahead", he replied with a smile. "Thanks." 

 

The next two hours were spent eating, talking about anything that came to mind and just having a good time out of work. Junmyeon definitely considered Jongdae and Chanyeol as his friends.


	4. Chapter 4

The three eventually left the restaurant, deciding to buy some alcohol and hang out at Chanyeol’s apartment. It was only a few minutes walk away. Junmyeon didn’t go home until later that evening, tipsy enough to not even bother checking the time as he got home, going straight to bed. 

He went to work the next day with a slight hangover and agreed with himself that he wasn’t going to do that again on a work night. It was still fun though. He had to admit that. 

 

Just like the day before, the tall, intimidating guy he now knew was called Kris, arrived a few minutes after he opened. This time Chanyeol wasn’t here though so he was the one taking Kris’ order. "Good morning and welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop", he greeted him with a smile on his face. "What can I get you?" 

Kris flashed him a small smile. "I’ll take a Lavender Vanilla Latte", he said. "And maybe a drawing this time too?" Junmyeon picked up a plastic cup and a pen. He debated whether he should write Kris or ask for his name. It would be a little weird and creepy if he wrote his name so he decided to ask. "What’s your name?"

 

"D."

 

"Excuse me?" Junmyeon looked up at him, confused. He had only made a little dot on the cup in his hand. "D?", he asked, to make sure he had heard correctly. Wasn’t his name Kris? 

Kris, or D or whoever he was, nodded. "Yeah." Junmyeon was still not writing anything. "Is that your name?", he asked before he could stop himself. "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ask that", he immediately apologised. 

"It’s fine", the guy said. "And no. That’s not my name", he continued. "Then. If you don’t mind me asking. Why do you want me to write just a D on it?", Junmyeon asked, finally continuing with the cup. "I need it for something." Need it for something? What could he possibly need that for? Junmyeon didn’t ask though and just nodded. "Okay. It’ll be ready in just a few minutes."

 

"Here you go. Have a nice day." Junmyeon placed the drink on the counter, smiling up at the guy. He did look like a model. With that jawline, those lips, that nose, those eyes, that entire face for the matter. He had to be a model. If not, he should’ve been one. "You too." The guy smiled at him once more before turning around, leaving the coffee shop.

 

D? Why would he call himself that? Wasn’t his name Kris? Chanyeol said so after all. There’s no way "D" turned into "Kris". And what would he need a cup with the letter D on it anyway? 

 

"Are you sure his name is Kris?", Junmyeon asked. Chanyeol looked up from his phone that was resting on the counter. "Well.. No. He said his name was Kris, but I don’t know", he replied, shrugging. "Why?"

"He came by this morning and I asked for his name so I could put it on the cup, and he said "D." Chanyeol raised an eyebrow. "D? Just the letter D?" Junmyeon nodded. "Huh. Weird." He looked back down at his phone and Junmyeon continued sweeping the floor. 

"Maybe he wanted to spell something out. Like di-." Jongdae stopped as he heard the door and a customer entered. "Jongdae! Don’t say that", Junmyeon scolded, making his way over to the counter. 

 

Junmyeon walked back to the table he had been sitting by before Jongdae was interrupted. "Maybe D is his nickname?", the student suggested. "But he said he needed it for something", the oldest said. "It doesn’t make sense that it’s his nickname if he needed it for something."

"Then I don’t know."

 

The incident was almost forgotten completely by the next morning and even as the guy arrived, almost half past seven this time, he didn’t think anything of it. He took his order as he was once again the only one at work.

"Welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop", he said, smiling up at the guy. "What can I get you today?", he asked. "I’ll take a Lavender Vanilla Latte", the guy replied and Junmyeon was almost flattered. Did he like his latte that much? "Okay." Junmyeon found a cup and picked up his pen. Should he ask? Or just write a D today too? But what if he wanted his actual name written now? "O", the guy said before Junmyeon could even open his mouth to ask. "What?" He looked at him, not sure if he had heard correctly. "Oh?", he asked. "As in the last name?"

"The letter O." So today was another letter. A different one. But what did he need that for? Was he spelling something out like Jongdae said? "Okay." He chose not to ask what it was for this time. At least he wasn’t spelling out what Jongdae had suggested. 

 

Junmyeon handed the guy his drink and watched as he left. In the door he met Chanyeol, who almost crashed into him. "Oops. Sorry. I didn’t see you there." He stepped to the side, letting the guy out before walking inside. "So. Did he actually give you his name today?", he asked, giving his umbrella a little shake. "No. Just a letter", Junmyeon replied, resting his elbows on the counter. "And please do that outside and not on the floor I just cleaned."

"What letter was it today?" Chanyeol pulled off his beanie and ran a hand through his hair. "O. Do you think he’s spelling something?" The younger disappeared for just a moment, returning with his apron on. "Maybe. I wonder why."

 

Jongdae arrived a few hours later, completely drenched from head to toe. "Jesus. It’s raining cats and dogs today." Chanyeol just laughed at him from behind the counter like the good friend and colleague he was. Junmyeon on the other hand, got the younger a towel and told him to change into some different clothes that he had brought with him just in case he needed them. You never knew when you needed a set of dry clothes when it was raining this much. "My bag’s just by the coat hangers", he informed the younger. 

 

"I can hear you grinning from back here, Chanyeol!" Chanyeol tried to hide the very obvious amused smile on his face with his hand as Junmyeon looked at him. Of course Junmyeon felt bad for Jongdae, even preparing a cup of hot cocoa for him, but he couldn’t help but laugh along with Chanyeol as he started laughing. 

 

"Don’t you own umbrellas?", Chanyeol asked, watching Jongdae drinking his hot cocoa with Junmyeon’s coat draped over his shoulders. "I’ll have you know that I don’t. I didn’t think I’d need one", Jongdae replied. "I’m never outside and as far as I know, it doesn’t rain inside."

"You should get one. You could catch a cold, Jongdae", Junmyeon said, sitting down beside the student. "I know, mom. You’ve already told me that several times since I got here."

 

There weren’t many customers that day. Probably because no one wanted to go outside when it was raining so much. Standing outside in this weather for just some seconds was just asking for a cold. The three sat by a table by the window and ate their lunches this time. The coffee shop was otherwise empty, completely silent other than the sound of rain hitting the window. "I’m glad I’m inside", Chanyeol said. "I’d rather not get pneumonia." He turned to look at Jongdae who had discarded Junmyeon’s coat. 

"Dry yet?"

 

Jongdae huffed. "Like you care. I’ve only got one real friend here", he dramatically said. "One that cares for my well-being." Chanyeol brought a hand up to his chest, acting hurt. "That hurts. I thought we were friends."

Junmyeon looked at the two and laughed. 

 

The sound of the door almost scared the three half to death and Junmyeon almost choked on his laughter. They hadn’t expected anyone to come in this weather. Who in their right mind would be outside now unless they wanted to get soaked?

 

"Hello."


	5. Chapter 5

The three’s heads turned, wondering who was crazy enough to go out in this weather. Not only was it raining, there was practically a storm outside. 

 

It was him. The tall guy, Kris or whatever his name actually was. What was he doing here this late in this weather? He usually came here in the morning after Junmyeon opened. Never this late. 

Junmyeon was the first to get up. The guy was soaked. His coat, which was not a raincoat, was dripping and his hair was completely wet. He looked like he had taken a shower with all his clothes on. "Do you want a towel?", he asked, but was already walking towards the back of the coffee shop to go get the towel Jongdae had left back there. 

The guy ran a hand through his wet hair, pushing the locks out of his face. "Yeah. A towel would be nice", he replied and Junmyeon quickly went to fetch the towel. 

 

"Here." Junmyeon handed the towel to the taller male and watched as he used it to dry his face and hair. "I don’t think I have any clothes you could borrow", he said. "And even if I did, they’d be a little too small-. Not that you’re.. It’s not that you’re not fit or skinny or anything", he quickly added. "It’s just that you’re taller-. Chanyeol. Do you have anything?"

"I have a raincoat." Junmyeon spun around on his heels, disappearing into the back of the shop. He returned a few seconds later with Chanyeol’s coat. "I guess it’s better than wearing the wet one", he said with a small smile, handing it to the guy. "Thanks."

 

Just like with Jongdae, he offered the guy a cup of hot chocolate which he accepted, pulling out his also soaked wallet. Junmyeon stopped him. "No no. It’s fine. It’s on the house. I’m not going to make you pay me for helping you." The guy draped his own coat over a chair, replacing it with Chanyeol’s. 

 

"Maybe you should take your shirt off."

 

Junmyeon had never regretted saying anything as much as he had right now. Why did he say that? He could’ve said anything else and he chose to say that. In the matter of milliseconds, his face was bright red and he opened his mouth to explain himself. From the table he had been sitting at he could hear Jongdae’s loud laughter. A second later Chanyeol was laughing just as loud with him. 

"I meant like.. Since your clothes are wet you should take them off-." He could hear the two by the table laughing even harder, clearly enjoying this a lot more than Junmyeon was. "You should probably take your sweater off or something since it’s wet and you could catch a cold or even pneumonia", he explained. "Not all your clothes." At this point he was almost worried Jongdae and Chanyeol were going to die of laughter. "I’m not saying you have to though. It’s just a good idea..", he continued. "Yeah.." 

 

"I think I’m dying", Jongdae said in between laughing. "That’s the most hilarious thing I’ve ever heard come from your mouth." Chanyeol just nodded, trying to calm down again. Eventually the two had managed to calmed down. Jongdae cleared his throat. "Sorry. Continue."

 

The guy didn’t seem bothered by Junmyeon’s choice of words. He flashed him a smile. "You’re probably right", he said. "I don’t really want to get sick." The guy pulled off Chanyeol’s raincoat, handing it to Junmyeon. What was he doing? He wasn’t actually going to undress right? Right? He was in the middle of a coffee shop with three random guys after all. 

Junmyeon turned away as he realised he was actually going to take it off. He didn’t want to seem rude by staring. He took the opportunity while the guy took his sweater off, putting Chanyeol’s jacket back on, to get him that hot chocolate he had offered. 

 

The three our sat in silence as the guy drank his hot cocoa, not saying anything. It was tempting to ask what the cups with the letters on were for, but he didn’t want to seem nosy. It was probably nothing anyway. It was just cups with random letters on them. 

He was still curious though. Was he spelling something out? Was his name actually Kris or was that a part of the random letter thing too? Maybe he was overthinking this. They were cups and he didn’t even know the guy. He’d been at the coffee shop like four times. 

 

Before Junmyeon knew it, the guy was getting up to leave. His coat and sweater were almost dry where they were hanging by the heater. His cup was empty and he used the back of his hand to wipe his lips. "I better get home before it gets even worse out", he said, handing Chanyeol his coat back. "Thanks for the cocoa, Suho."

He went and grabbed his sweater, feeling the fabric before putting it on. He grabbed his coat and walked to the door. "Bye."

The three still sitting by the table watched as he left. It was still pouring outside and Junmyeon could see him running, probably on his way home. 

 

"I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that much in my life", Jongdae said and chuckled. "That was hilarious. I’ve never heard anyone say that to anyone before. Thanks for that, Junmyeon." Junmyeon looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed. "I didn’t mean to say it like that", he said. "I just didn’t want him to sit here completely soaked and get a cold or something."

"Okay. It’s still hilarious though."


	6. Chapter 6

The guy showed up everyday for the rest of the week, except for Sunday when they were closed. Everyday he asked for a different letter written on his cup of Lavender Vanilla Latte, or LaVa as they called it. Junmyeon couldn’t remember all the letters as the morning was sometimes the busiest part of the day. Everyone was there to get their morning coffee or a light breakfast before leaving to work or school.

By every letter he wrote down, he was becoming more and more curious of what he needed them for. It just made no sense. Why would he need cups with letters on them?

 

Five minutes past seven the next Monday, the guy was back. Once again he ordered a Lavender Vanilla Latte, Junmyeon’s specialty. Once again he just asked for a letter. This time a "W". And just like the other times, he didn’t ask what he needed it for. He just handed him his latte, smiling at him and watching as he left. 

"Another letter?", Jongdae asked, entering the front of the coffee shop with a full tray off chocolate muffins with raspberry. "Yeah." Junmyeon nodded. "I’m starting to get really curious. I wonder what he needs them for", the student said, placing the tray where it belonged. "If you’re not going to ask, I am."

"You sure? Isn’t it a little rude to ask something like that? We don’t even know him", Junmyeon said and Jongdae shrugged his shoulders. "They’re just some plastic cups. I’m not asking for his social security number or anything."

 

Jongdae was the one behind the counter the next day. He had a week off from his studies and decided to come to work early that day, probably to ask the guy about the cups. Junmyeon could see that the younger was clearly on the lookout for the guy, barely taking his eyes off the door. 

Finally, fifteen minutes past seven, he arrived and Jongdae, who had been rearranging the samples on the counter, immediately stopped what he was doing and greeted him. "Hi!", he exclaimed. "Welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop, what can I get you?"

"A sandwich with chicken and a plain coffee", the guy replied and Junmyeon could see the raise of Jongdae’s eyebrow from where he was sweeping the floor. "Really? No latte?", he said, surprised. "No, not today."

"Really? He’s right there." Jongdae pointed to Junmyeon, who looked back down at the floor like he hadn’t been listening. "He could make you a latte right now if you want", he said. "With a letter too." Junmyeon glanced at the guy and he noticed the guy was looking at him. "Sure."

"Okay!" Jongdae strolled right over to Junmyeon, grabbing his mop right out of his hands and giving him a little push. "If you don’t ask him, I’m asking." 

 

"Here you go", Junmyeon said, handing him his latte, that Jongdae had practically forced him into ordering. "A", the guy said, pointing to the cup. "What?", Junmyeon asked a little confused. And then he realised. "Oh, right." He grabbed his pen and scribbled down an A on the cup before handing it to him. "Tha-."

 

"What’s it for?", Jongdae asked before the guy could thank him. He grabbed his latte, but didn’t turn to leave. "What’s what for?", he asked. "The cups", Jongdae replied, placing the mop against a table and walking over. "What’s with the letters? What are they for?" Junmyeon opened his mouth to tell him to stop and leave the poor guy getting his latte alone, but the guy beat him to it. 

 

"You’ll just have to wait and see." He smiled at the two before turning around, leaving.

 

"I’m dying to know what he needs them for", Jongdae complained, sighing dramatically. "I want to know what he’s spelling out and what they’re for." Junmyeon walked past him over to a table, picking up his mop again. "It’s probably nothing." Jongdae just sighed once more and went back to work.

Another three days went by and the guy was there every single morning at around ten to fifteen minutes past seven. Everytime he got a Lavander Vanilla Latte and everytime he asked for a new letter. By now, if Junmyeon had counted correctly, the guy had been there ten times over the past few weeks. How many more did the guy need? Was he going to just give him his actual name for once? 

 

"So ten times you say." Jongdae scribbled something down on some paper. "So it can’t be a word", he said and Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, it can", he protested. "There are words with this many letters", he said. Jongdae counted whatever he had written down in his, most likely, notebook from school. "It makes more sense that it’s a sentence", Jongdae said and held up his notebook. An "A", a "W", an "O" and a "D", plus some x’s. Six x’s and four letters. "What word has ten letters and contain these letters, Junmyeon? It’s obviously supposed to be a sentence."

"Washington?"

"There’s no D in Washington", Jongdae said. "There’s not?" Jongdae shook his head, looking down at his notebook. "It’s a T, not a D."

 

"It seems like we just have to wait and see, just like he said."

 

"But I want to know now", Jongdae complained. "This is so exciting. It’s the only fun thing that’s happened here except for that time Chanyeol ripped the bag of flour open and it went everywhere."

"Yeah. It was fun, until we had to clean it up."


	7. Chapter 7

Junmyeon wasn’t at work that Wednesday. It was his first day having a day off from work. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to work, because he loved his job. He loved everything about it and always looked forward to go to work and meet Chanyeol and Jongdae. 

He was sick.

It was funny really. Just a while earlier he had fussed over Jongdae, and that guy, that they could catch a cold or get pneumonia, but in the end he was the one with the cold. He had originally planned on just going to work, it was just a light fever and a headache, but he decided against it. He didn’t want to stand by the counter and work with costumers or make food like this. It was unsanitary. What if he gave someone else a cold?

 

So Chanyeol, being the angel he was, stepped in for him. Jongdae helped of course while Junmyeon called the two once in a while, sending a few texts as well, to make sure they were doing okay and nothing was on fire or broken. 

"Junmyeon. Chill", Jongdae said, holding his phone against his ear with his shoulder while rolling out some dough with a rolling pin. "Take a pill and go to bed. We’re doing fine", he assured the other. "You sure?" Jongdae sighed. "Yes, mom. We’re doing just fine. Nothing’s on fire, there’s no flour everywhere and I did see your text about the LaVa recipe, I know how to make it too you know."

"You sure?"

"Go to bed, Junmyeon. Don’t stress."

"You s-."

"Oh look, a customer. I got to go, bye!", Jongdae quickly said, hearing the door. He hung up before Junmyeon could say anything else, placed his rolling pin down and shoved his phone back into his back pocket before exiting the back of the shop to go greet the customer. He stopped as he saw who it was. It was the guy. Kris or whatever his name was. 

"Hello! Welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop!", he greeted him with a smile. "What can I get you, mysterious latte guy?", he asked and the guy raised an eyebrow. "Mysterious latte guy?" Jongdae rested his elbows on the counter, his chin in his palms. "Yeah. You’re mysterious and you order a lot of lattes. Mysterious latte guy."

 

"Alright then." The guy pulled out his wallet. "I’ll take a regular coffee", he said and Jongdae raised an eyebrow. "What?" The taller looked a little confused at him. "Did I say something?" Jongdae had reached for a plastic cup, ready to make Junmyeon’s specialty, but stopped as the guy told him what he wanted. A regular coffee? "Don’t you usually order lattes? What about the letter?" 

"What if I put it on the house?", Jongdae then suggested. "For free? You sure?" Junmyeon was not going to like this, but what he didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him. "Yeah. It might not be as good as Junmyeon’s, but I’ll try my best." He picked up the cup he had been reaching for. "Junmyeon? I thought his name was Suho."

"You can call him that if you want, but it’s just a nickname", Jongdae told him, picking up a pen. "So. What letter do you want today?" 

 

"O." Jongdae scribbled down the letter and went to make the guy a latte and a regular, black coffee. He returned a while later, placing the two cups down on the counter. "Here you go. Have a nice day, mysterious latte guy!"

"You too." And then he was gone, leaving Jongdae wondering what he needed the cups for once again. 

 

"Chanyeol! Guess who was just here." The taller looked up from the tomato he was currently cutting. "That guy?", he asked. Jongdae nodded. "Yup. He asked for another letter, well, he asked for another letter because I offered him a latte and asked which letter he wanted today."

"You didn’t give him one for free did you?" Jongdae shrugged. "Maybe..", he admitted and Chanyeol sighed. "Just don’t tell Junmyeon that."

"I won’t. Who do you think I am?"

 

They closed around five that day. Jongdae had a cup of hot cocoa in his hand that he planned on giving to Junmyeon. "Do you know where he lives?", Jongdae asked, watching Chanyeol lock the door and shove the key into the pocket of his raincoat. "I think so."

They walked in silence, neither of the two saying anything during the short walk to the apartment building Chanyeol had told him Junmyeon lived in. Jongdae was the one who finally broke the silence, looking at the building in front of them. "Are you sure he lives here?", he asked. "It’d be pretty awkward if we just showed up at some random person’s apartment."

"I’m almost a hundred percent sure he lives here." Chanyeol took a look at his phone. "Sixth floor. Apartment 120 if I’m not wrong." 

 

The two headed into the building and made their way up the stairs as the elevator was apparently broken. By the time they reached the fourth floor, Jongdae was out of breath and his steps were slowing down by the time they reached the fifth. "I’m tired. Are we there yet?"

Chanyeol stopped in front of a door and Jongdae watched him ring the doorbell. They waited for a minute or so and Jongdae was starting to wonder if Junmyeon wasn’t home. The door finally opened though and it seemed like Chanyeol was right. Junmyeon did live there. "What are you two doing here?" Junmyeon was only wearing a big, cozy looking sweater and underwear, at least Jongdae hoped he was under that sweater. "We came by to give you this." Jongdae handed the oldest the cup of hot cocoa. "And to see how you were doing", Chanyeol added with a smile. 

 

Junmyeon coughed into the crook of his elbow, taking a step to the side. "Do you wanna come in?" The two nodded and walked right into Junmyeon’s apartment. It was a nice apartment. Nothing too big, but big enough for one person. The walls were white which made the apartment really bright. There was a big, grey couch in the corner, filled with blankets and pillows. Junmyeon must’ve been sleeping there. Other than a couch there was a tv, a bookshelf and a coffee table and a desk placed in another corner. 

Jongdae could see into the kitchen from where he was standing and just like the living room it was bright with white walls. He could see some dirty bowls and some mugs, probably having been too lazy to clean them.

"Your apartment’s really nice", Chanyeol said. Junmyeon smiled at him, walking over to the couch and sitting down. "Thanks." He noticed the two just standing there and patted the spot beside him. "You can sit down if you want. You don’t have to just stand there."

 

"So. How did you guys do alone today?", Junmyeon asked and took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Great", Jongdae said. "You should take more days off. You work everyday, Jun." Chanyeol nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We can handle the coffee shop on our own. There’s nothing to worry about, Junmyeon", he said. "You deserve a day off once in a while."

"But I like working", Junmyeon said. "I enjoy myself more at work than at home. I prefer working instead of laying around, watching TV series or movies." 

"Take some days off and hang out with us", Jongdae said. Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. "Then who’s going to watch the coffee shop?", he asked. "You could always replace the poster on the door and hire someone new."

 

"Replace it? What do you mean replace it?", Junmyeon asked. "Oh right. I forgot to tell you, but it flew away." No wonder no one had asked to work there. Junmyeon had just thought no one wanted to. 

"That’s not such a bad idea."


	8. Chapter 8

Junmyeon was back to work the next day, despite Jongdae and Chanyeol’s protests. He arrived first as usually, but a little earlier than he normally would so he could replace the poster. Maybe someone would finally ask for work. It would be nice to be four instead of three. 

 

He did some finishing touches to the poster before he was finally happy with it. After putting on his coat, he went outside and hung the poster back up on the door to the coffee shop. Hopefully this one wouldn’t fly away like the last one. It was fun and all to make them, but still. On this one he made sure to put extra tape on it. "There we go. Just don’t fly away this time", he mumbled to himself before going back inside.

He checked the time to make sure he wasn’t late to open. One minute left. Perfect. Junmyeon made sure all the candles on the tables were lit and that nothing was missing in terms of food. After turning the sign in the door, making it show "open" instead of "closed", he went behind the counter. 

 

He arrived almost fifteen minutes past seven. Junmyeon had been busy looking for a new pen under the counter as the old one didn’t work anymore. He dug around for a while, not even hearing the door. Sighing in frustration, he started placing things on the floor so he wouldn’t have to dig through the same pile of used pens another ten times. He was sure he had gotten a new pack of pens just a little while ago and he was pretty sure it was under the counter he had placed that pack of pens. 

 

"Junmyeon?"

 

Junmyeon quickly got up on his feet, hitting his head on the counter along the way. He placed a hand on his head, rubbing the spot he hit himself. Noticing who it was, he put on a smile, pretending like he hadn’t just knocked his head while standing up right in front of him. "Hello!", he said. "What do you want?", he asked. "I mean, what can I get you?", he quickly added, realising he hadn’t sounded that nice. "And welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop."

"Are you okay?", the guy asked, raising an eyebrow. "You hit your head pretty hard." Only then did Junmyeon notice the guy was wearing a suit. Not a full on suit, but he was wearing black dress pants with a matching coat and a dress shirt that didn’t have a single wrinkle like he had just ironed it. 

He had to be a model. There was no way he wasn’t. His shirt was so perfect it looked like it had been ironed while he was wearing it and that coat looked like it had been made just for him. Him not being a model would almost be a sin, a waste of good looks. 

 

He was brought back to reality by a hand waving in front of his face. He blinked, looking over at the guy leaning over the counter. "You okay?", he asked and Junmyeon could see that he was worried. "Did you hit your head that hard? Should I take you to a doctor or something?"

Junmyeon quickly shook his head, which he regretted as soon as his head started hurting. "No no. I’m fine", he assured him. "I just zoned out." He eyed the taller’s outfit again. "That’s a nice shirt", he said before he could stop himself. That’s a nice shirt? It’s a regular, white button up, you idiot. You have like ten of those at home-. "Thanks." He looked back up at the guy and he was looking back at him with a smile on his face. 

He had to be a model. He just had to. Who looks this good, but doesn’t model? He had nice, dark eyes, his eyebrows made him look serious, but not too serious that he looked angry and his face was just overall good looking. 

 

"Junmyeon?"

 

Junmyeon was brought back to reality once more by a hand waving in front of him. "What?" He looked a little confused at him. "How do you know my name?", he asked. "One of your colleagues told me", the guy replied, resting his elbows on the counter. "He said he wouldn’t be able to make a Lavender Vanilla Latte as good as Junmyeon, which I assume is you."

"Yeah. That’s me."

"Well, I’d like one of those today made by the specialist himself", the guy said and smiled. "Okay, but.." Junmyeon glanced down at the counter. The pen was still there, but it wasn’t to much use anymore. "I don’t have any pen to write with."

 

"Here." Junmyeon looked back up and right in front of him was a pen. "Take this." He grabbed the pen and a cup. "Thank you." He was about to write when he realised the taller hadn’t even given him a letter. "What do you want me to write?", he asked. 

"G", the guy replied and Junmyeon wrote down what he requested. He held out the pen for him to take once he was done, but the guy just shook his head. "Keep it." Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I’m sure I have a pack of pens somewhere so you can keep it", he said, still holding the pen out. The guy lifted a hand, but used it to push Junmyeon’s hand back. "Keep it."

 

Junmyeon returned a few minutes later. "Here’s your latte. Have a nice day." He placed the cup down on the counter, flashing the other a smile. "Thanks. Have a nice day." The guy grabbed his drink and started walking towards the door. "Just keep the pen, Junmyeon." And then he was gone. 

He looked down at the pen sitting on the counter right in front of him before picking it up. It looked like a regular black and gold pen, but it felt a little heavier. He took a closer look at it, noticing something written around it in tiny letters. "Montblanc" it said. Isn’t that a mountain? Junmyeon just shrugged, placing it back down. It was probably the brand, he thought and went back to work.


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, Junmyeon!", Jongdae called from the front of the coffee shop. Junmyeon was in the middle of cracking some eggs for a new batch of pancakes. He cracked the egg and added it into the bowl before placing the empty shell down with the rest.

"Yeah?" He leaned against the doorframe. "What is it?", he asked, taking a look around to make sure nothing was on fire or something. "Do you have a pen?", Jongdae asked, holding up a most likely used one. "We run out of them before we even buy them."

"Isn’t there a pack under the counter?", Junmyeon asked, pointing to the counter. "I bought a pack of six just some days ago." The younger threw the pen in his hand into the trash beside him. "Right. That’s empty." Empty? Already? Where were all their pens going? "You’ll be amazed by how much we actually use pens, Junmyeon. Just yesterday I used two."

 

That’s when Junmyeon realised. He reached a hand into the pocket of his apron and pulled out the pen he had gotten the day before from that guy. "Here you go." He held it out for Jongdae to take. "You’re keeping pens from me?", he said, acting offended. He grabbed the pen, taking a look at it. "I’m offended", he dramatically said. 

"I’m sorry." Junmyeon chuckled, turning around to go back to cracking eggs. "Junmyeon." He stopped, turning back around. What now? Was that pen used too? How many pens did they need?

 

"This says Montblanc", Jongdae said. "Yeah. Isn’t that a mountain or something?" Jongdae looked down at the pen, running his thumb over one of the gold coloured rings. "It’s a brand", he said, bringing the pen closer so he could take a closer look at it. "You don’t say", Junmyeon said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. 

"It’s real." Junmyeon looked confused at him. Real? Well he sure hoped it was a real pen. Who gives people fake pens? How do you even make a fake pen? Are there fake pens? "Of course it is. I used it yesterday. It’s as real as pens get", Junmyeon said, looking at the pen with a look of confusion. 

 

"Junmyeon?" Jongdae looked back up at him. 

 

"Yeah?" 

 

"This is real, Junmyeon." Junmyeon was still as confused as ever. "Real? What do you mean real? It’s a pen", he said. "I mean it looks cool and all, but it’s just a regular pen from this Montblanc or whatever."

 

"This is worth over a million won, Junmyeon." Junmyeon almost choked on his own spit. He coughed and hit his chest a few times with the hand that wasn’t gripping the doorframe. "One million won?!"

"One point one million won, nine hundred euro, a thousand dollars."

"It’s a pen", Junmyeon said, pointing to the pen in Jongdae’s hands. "It’s just a pen." Jongdae held up the pen and Junmyeon took a step closer, finally letting go of the doorframe. "It’s a Montblanc fountain pen, Junmyeon." He pointed to the gold coloured tip of it. "This is 18k gold."

 

Junmyeon doesn’t remember anything else after that. He woke up who knows how many hours or minutes later. Staring up at the ceiling, he realised he was on the floor. Sitting beside him was Jongdae, but the pen was nowhere in sight. Had he heard correctly? No, he couldn’t have. There was no way on earth that pen was worth that much money. It was a pen. Who’d pay that much for a pen?

"Junmyeon. Are you okay?", Jongdae said, leaning over to check how he was doing. "Hey, can you hear me?" He placed a hand on Junmyeon’s forehead, pushing his bangs away. "You fainted and hit your head pretty hard", he calmly said. "Jun. Can you hear me?"

Junmyeon finally opened his mouth to reply, but got interrupted by the door. Now was not the time for a customer to enter. He was laying there on the floor with the worst headache ever. Just the bell ringing when the door opened was enough to make it feel like his head was exploding. 

 

He glanced over at the door to see who it was. Out of all the people on the planet it was that guy. That guy that had given him that pen. A pen worth one point one million Korean won. That was more than Junmyeon’s rent every month. In a pen. 

He propped himself up on his elbows, ignoring Jongdae’s protests, and pointed at him. "That pen you gave me", he started and Jongdae’s head snapped towards the guy now standing beside him. "Is worth one point one million won", he said. He honestly expected him to laugh and tell him it was just some cheap pen he got on some random website or something, he kind of hoped he would too. Instead of laughing, he nodded, and instead of telling him it was from a random website, he just said; "Yeah."

If he owned a pen worth one point one million won, and he could just give it away to random people he didn’t know, he had to be a billionaire or something. Who else would spend that much money on a pen and then give it away?

 

"Are you rich?", Jongdae bluntly asked. "I mean, you gave away a pen worth a million." The guy laughed now. "Maybe I am, maybe I’m not." With that, he turned around and left, not even ordering anything or asking for his pen back. 

 

A while later and Junmyeon was back on his feet, sitting by a table with Jongdae and Chanyeol, who had arrived just after the guy had left. Jongdae told Chanyeol all about the pen and he hadn’t really said much. He had just looked at the pen, looking a little shocked and confused. Junmyeon could see why. It wasn’t everyday you got to hold a million won worth of pens, but as in a million won worth of a singular pen.

"I bet he’s a millionaire or something", Jongdae said, typing something on his phone. "Or even a billionaire. What if he’s a trillionaire? Is that a thing?" Chanyeol was still looking at the pen on the table in front of them. "I think we’d know if he was", he said, reaching a hand out to pick up the pen. "But I guess he could still be a millionaire."

"Yeah, either that or a criminal." Junmyeon looked at Jongdae with an eyebrow raised. "A criminal?" Jongdae placed his phone down and looked up at him. "He doesn’t tell us his name and he gives away really expensive pens. If he stole it, he wouldn’t mind giving it away, would he?" Junmyeon started wondering if Jongdae was actually serious about it. Did he really think that guy was a criminal? He could just’ve been rich. "You really think so?" Jongdae shrugged.

"You never know." 

 

The guy came back a while later, which was weird since he usually came once in the morning. Junmyeon was alone, in the front of the shop that is. Jongdae and Chanyeol were busy making whatever they needed more of in the back. "Hello", he said with a smile. He glanced down at the pen, the one he got from the man now standing on the other side of the counter. "Welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop. What can I get you?"

"I’ll take your specialty, Junmyeon", the guy replied and Junmyeon found a cup. He looked back down at the pen. He had to use that one. Just writing one letter would several thousand won in ink probably. After staring at it for a moment, he picked it up. "What do you want me to write today then?"

 

"O."

 

"Alright." He looked at the pen for another moment. He was holding one million won in his hand right now. He was holding his rent in one hand, between some fingers. That pen was worth his-. Junmyeon snapped back into reality, a hand waving in front of his face. He looked up to see what he wanted. "What?"

"You zoned out", the guy said and Junmyeon quickly apologised, using the pen, the very expensive pen, to scribble down an "O" on the cup. "Sorry, it’s just.." He debated on whether asking about the pen or not. He decided against it. "Nothing. I just do that sometimes."

 

Junmyeon eyed the taller up and down as he made him his latte. He wasn’t wearing a coat, just a white button up and some black dress pants. The button up was still as perfectly ironed as the last one, or maybe it was the same one for all he knew. He didn’t look like a billionaire. 

How did billionaires dress though? Did they wear all designer? The guy’s shirt was nice, but it didn’t look like it was designer. What if he was a criminal? Business men that young didn’t earn so much money that they could just spend a million on a pen, right? Even if he did earn that much as a business man, which he could be judging by his outfit, why would he just give it away like it was nothing because Junmyeon needed a pen?

It did make sense that he could be a criminal though. He never gave away his name, he never told him anything about himself, not that he had to though, and earlier that day when Jongdae asked if he was rich he just smiled and replied with; "Maybe I am, maybe I’m not". Why not just say yes or no? 

 

"Junmyeon." His gaze traveled up the taller’s body, up to his face. "Yes? Is there something wrong? Do you want something else?" The guy just pointed and Junmyeon just looked at him for a moment before he felt it. His hands were wet. He looked back down at what he was doing and noticed it was overflowing. He quickly stopped, placing the cup down. "I didn’t even notice. I’m sorry. I’ll make a new one." 

After pouring everything back out and starting over, all while the guy watched him, he placed the finished latte on the counter. At least he didn’t laugh at him. "Sorry it took so long", he apologised. "It’s fine. It could’ve been worse", the guy said, flashing him a smile as he left. 

It could’ve been worse? Maybe if he was indeed a criminal, he meant something like-. Junmyeon took a deep breath, trying to calm down. The poor guy wasn’t a criminal. He was probably just some guy with a good job that came to get a latte every morning. Just because he didn’t want to tell him his name didn’t mean he was a criminal.

Not even Jongdae thought he was actually a criminal.


	10. Chapter 10

The guy didn’t show up the day after. Junmyeon had no idea why, he barely knew the guy after all. Maybe he didn’t have time, or he just didn’t want a latte that day. Who knows?

"What do we do with the pen?", Jongdae asked, sitting down by the table and placing his lunch in front of him. "I mean, it’s worth a lot of money", he continued. "Imagine what we could spend it on. Imagine how much food we could buy at that Chinese restaurant, Junmyeon."

Junmyeon didn’t even get to answer, Jongdae just continued speaking. "Speaking of the Chinese restaurant, let’s go there today after we close", he said, finally stopping so Junmyeon could speak. "Sure, but about the pen.. We’ll see. Maybe he wants it back."

 

"I’m starving", Jongdae complained, watching Chanyeol place some lettuce on the sandwiches he was making. He looked up and noticed the older watching. "You’re not getting any if that’s what you think", he said. "These are for paying costumers only and I don’t see any money." He eyed him up and down. 

"I was going to ask you how much time’s left before we’re closing", Jongdae said. "I, unlike you, don’t take food from work." Junmyeon was just looking at the two, in the middle of scrubbing a plate clean. It was amazing to see how quick they’d become friends. They’d known each other for just some weeks. It was fun to just sit and listen to their banter. 

"What do you mean "unlike you"? I don’t take food from work", Chanyeol denied, walking over to the sink beside the one where Junmyeon was currently doing the dishes. "Sure you don’t", Jongdae said, clearly not believing what he was being told. "Where are all the blueberry yoghurt cookies going then?" He raised an eyebrow. "Uh. This is a coffee shop. People buy them", Chanyeol replied.

"Do I look stupid?" Chanyeol opened his mouth to answer. "They disappear as soon as they’re out of the oven. People don’t buy them back here, Chanyeol. You’re stealing them."

 

Junmyeon placed the clean plate down on the counter after drying it with a towel and leaned against the counter, watching the two. "No, I’m not", Chanyeol denied. "Then were are they all going, Chanyeol? Tell me that." Chanyeol looked over at Junmyeon and Jongdae did the same. "I’ve not been taking them", Junmyeon said, shrugging. "Don’t blame Junmyeon. You’re the one taking them." 

"Okay, fine." Chanyeol rolled his eyes. "I might’ve taken a few when no one was looking..", he admitted. "Hey! I spent a lot of time and effort making those for our customers", the student complained. "I didn’t make them just for you to eat them."

Chanyeol looked at the shorter, sticking his bottom lip out, pouting at him. "I just took one, but they were so good so I took a few more." Jongdae raised an eyebrow. "A few?"

"Like.. Ten?"

 

"How about I make some for you sometime?", Jongdae suggested. "Then you don’t have to take the ones meant for the customers."

"Okay, thanks."

 

Junmyeon looked at the two and was wondering if he’d just witnessed a date being planned. Or was he meant to come along as well? "Well. Now that that’s sorted. When are we closing? I’m hungry."

 

Th trio was just about to leave when they noticed someone standing outside right in front of the door. Their face wasn’t visible, due to the poster hanging there, so they had no idea who it was. They looked tall though. Was it the guy?

After just looking at each other for a few seconds, Junmyeon decided to go open the door. It wasn’t him, but he did remind Junmyeon a lot about him. Tall and intimidating. He didn’t even look fazed as the door opened, the stern expression on his face not changing for even a millisecond. 

"Can I help you?", Junmyeon finally asked, looking up at the stern looking guy. "We were just about to leave, but if you wanted to order something, you can." The guy shook his head and pointed to the door. "You’re still hiring?"

 

He was still looking at Junmyeon with the same stern expression as he placed the form and a pen, the one he still had from that guy, and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Jongdae and Chanyeol were sitting there as well, not really saying much. 

The guy eyed the pen after picking it up. "Montblanc. Is it real?", he asked, looking up at Junmyeon. "Apparently." He eyed Junmyeon up and down before looking around the shop. "Huh." Junmyeon looked over at the other two and they just shrugged, not saying anything. 

 

Oh Sehun, 18 years old, student, used to work as a babysitter for the neighbors. Junmyeon glanced at him. Didn’t look like someone who’d work as a babysitter, but you know what they say. Never judge a book by its cover. 

"So, Sehun. Do you have any experience when it comes to cooking or baking?", he asked, folding the other’s form in half. "Not much. I mean, I’ve cooked for myself a couple of times", Sehun replied, shrugging. "I can follow recipes." Junmyeon nodded and they continued chatting for a while, Jongdae and Chanyeol eventually joining.

 

"Well. Do I get the job?"

"Yeah. I think so. Congratulations, Sehun." He looked at him and smiled, and in the matter of seconds the younger’s expression changed. He was smiling back at him for the first time since he met him. "Great. When do I start?"


	11. Chapter 11

Sehun was about to get up and leave, but he stopped as Junmyeon called his name. Was he changing his mind about giving Sehun the job? "Yeah?"

Junmyeon was smiling, which was a good sign. Maybe he wasn’t changing his mind after all? "We were planning on eating at a Chinese restaurant not far from here", the older explained. "Alright?" Junmyeon continued. "I just wanted to ask if you wanted to come with us. You don’t have to, but I thought it’d be a nice way to get to know each other."

"Yeah, I’ll come along."

 

They walked in silence, excluding to the two bickering in front of him and Junmyeon. Jongdae and Chanyeol, he believed they were named. They seemed nice, a little on the loud side, but not loud as in obnoxious and rude. Junmyeon on the other hand, was a lot more quiet. Not quiet as in he didn’t speak, because he did. He spoke a lot. He was more reserved, wasn’t as loud, didn’t laugh as much as the two others. Out of the three working at the coffee shop, he seemed like he was the "mother hen". 

 

A while later they reached the restaurant. Sehun had never been there before, but he was always up for trying new things, including food from new places. He let the other three enter first before he went inside as well, letting the door close behind him. It smelled good and the smell alone was making him hungry again even though he had just eaten with some of his friends. 

He followed the trio over to a table where they all sat down. "They have really good food here", Chanyeol said, smiling at him. "Yeah. The soup dumplings they make here are so good", Jongdae said, nodding. "It’s almost sinful."

 

"So. What are you planning on studying at university, Sehun?", Junmyeon asked, placing his menu down, probably already chosen what he wanted to get. Sehun on the other hand, hadn’t. There was so much to choose from. "I don’t really know", he replied, looking through the drinks they had. "Maybe psychology." Maybe he should get water? "Or geography." No. Who went to a restaurant and got water when they could get a soft drink? "Or maybe music." On the other hand, they had Chinese tea. He’d never tried that before. Was it any good? 

"Jongdae studies music", Junmyeon said and Sehun finally looked up from his menu, deciding on Chinese tea and a Pepsi. He looked at Jongdae who smiled, nodding. "Yeah. It’s really fun", he said. "You sure? You do complain a lot", Chanyeol said and Jongdae glared at him. "No, I don’t."

"Cool. I bet it’s a lot of fun", Sehun said and looked back down at his menu to pick something to eat. 

 

Just half an hour or so later they got their food, Sehun wasn’t really paying attention. He was too busy talking to the other three. They hadn’t known each other for long, barely a few hours, but Sehun already felt like the three were friends he’d know for years.

"So how long have you all worked at the coffee shop?", Sehun asked. "A few months I believe", Jongdae replied. "A few weeks", Chanyeol said, taking a sip from his glass of whatever alcoholic beverage he’d gotten. Sehun nodded. So they’d known each other for a while. It didn’t seem like a problem to become a part of their friendship though. 

"What about you, Junmyeon?"

"I opened the coffee shop a few years ago", he replied. "Two years maybe?" 

"You worked alone that long?", Jongdae asked. "Wasn’t that stressful? And here I was, thinking you were just chilling alone, brewing coffee." Junmyeon chuckled, picking up his glass and bringing it to his lips. He took a sip of his water before speaking. "No. It was pretty stressful. I had to do everything alone. I had no one to bake for me while I stood behind the counter, or the other way around."

"You should really take some days off, Jun", Jongdae said. "The way you’re treating yourself is going to give you grey hair by your birthday." Junmyeon laughed. "I’m doing just fine, Dae."

 

Chanyeol hadn’t really said much. Come to think of it, he hadn’t really been touching his food either. It seemed like he was distracted. Noticing he was looking at something, Sehun turned to look as well. There wasn’t anything special. A couple sitting by a table by the window, chatting, some people reading the menu and some guys in suits sitting by a table in the corner. Maybe he recognised someone?

"Hey, Junmyeon", he finally said and Junmyeon looked up from his food. "Yeah? What is it?"

 

"Isn’t that that guy ordering your latte every morning?" Chanyeol nodded towards the table in the corner and Junmyeon turned to look. 

And there in the corner, among a couple other guys clad in suits, was the guy, also dressed in a suit. The same guy that showed up almost every morning to order a Lavander Vanilla Latte, also known as LaVa, with just one letter on it. One different letter every time. 

The guy didn’t seem to have noticed them though. He was busy talking to the other guys sitting by the table to notice the four staring. 

 

Sehun was confused. Who was "that guy"? Didn’t he have a name? And which one of them was it? Was it the tanner one with eye bags? The one with the eyebrows? It could also be the one with his back facing them, but they couldn’t see his face, so probably not him. 

"Who?", he asked, still just as confused. "Oh, just someone ordering Junmyeon’s specialty every morning with one different letter on it every time", Jongdae replied. "It’s the guy on the right with no suit jacket or a tie."

 

He was still confused after Jongdae had told him everything. Everything from the first time he arrived to the last. Why did he ask for one letter on his cup? And why did he give away expensive pens?

Also, why did he own an expensive pen? Was he that rich? 

 

Just then, as the four stared at the guy sitting in the corner, the guy beside that latte-guy leaned in and said something to him and the latte-guy looked up, right at them. 

All four of them quickly looked away, picking up their chopsticks or their glass. 

 

Junmyeon sipped on his water for a while before he finally looked back over at the guy. Just as he did, the guy looked up as well, almost like he felt him looking, and smiled. 

Junmyeon smiled as well, forgetting he was still drinking water. He could feel some running down his chin and he could hear it dripping right into his food. He quickly put his glass down and picked up a napkin, not daring to look back over at the guy.

Jongdae was the first out of the three others to notice.

 

"Are you drooling?"


	12. Chapter 12

"Are you drooling?"

 

Junmyeon quickly shook his head. "No no. I just zoned out and spilled my water", he said and looked down at his food. Luckily it had just been water, and not drool, so his food was still edible. "Uh huh." The younger didn’t sound convinced. 

"I know he’s a good looking guy, but please don’t drool all over your food", he said and Junmyeon looked up at him. "What?", he said, not sure if he’d heard correctly. "I’m trying to enjoy my soup dumplings over here", Jongdae continued, not having listened to him. 

"I’m sorry, what did you say?"

Jongdae wasn’t looking at him, busy poking around in his food. "I’m trying to enjoy my soup dumplings?" He finally picked up one of the dumplings. "No, before that." Junmyeon waited as Jongdae chewed. The student opened his mouth to reply, but Chanyeol interrupted before he could do so. "He said he knows the guy’s good looking, but please don’t drool all over your food. Which I agree with, it’s gross, Jun." Jongdae just nodded.

 

"I was not drooling", Junmyeon protested. "It was water. Honestly." The two looked at each other for a moment. "Alright. Whatever you say, Jun. Whatever you say."

 

After a while, once he was sure the guy wasn’t looking anymore and that his cheeks weren’t flushed pink anymore after that embarrassment, looked back over at him. He wasn’t looking, he wasn’t even there. The group of three was gone.

 

The four left as well a little while later. Sehun was going the other way and left them by the restaurant, but not before giving all three a hug. He looked so intimidating with those eyebrows and his facial expression, but he was so nice. He didn’t even laugh at Junmyeon "drooling", which he hadn’t by the way, like Jongdae and Chanyeol had, refusing to believe his excuses. 

The youngest hadn’t said much, but he seemed like a really nice guy once you got past the stern, intimidating surface. Junmyeon couldn’t wait to work with him.

 

Ever since the incident, "the drooling incident" as Jongdae liked to call it, he couldn’t enjoy a cold glass of water at work without Jongdae reminding him about it. He wasn’t upset or anything, he knew Jongdae was just messing with him and he knew if he told him to stop, he would. It was still annoying though. 

The guy showed up every morning as he usually did, meaning even more letters that Junmyeon still had no idea what were for. Jongdae wasn’t always there, he had classes, but when he was he’d give him looks from wherever he was, and Junmyeon could tell he was teasing him. Even when he was just giving him a raised eyebrow, he knew that it was more than just an eyebrow raised. He could see his lips curling ever so slightly up into a grin. 

An entire week straight, excluding Sunday as the shop was closed, the guy showed up. He was never late that week, showing up as early as a few minutes past seven and as late as fifteen minutes past seven. Never earlier and never later than that. As always he never showed up more than once and he never ordered anything except a Lavender Vanilla Latte. 

 

Junmyeon had forgotten some of the letters from earlier that week, but he could remember an "I", a "T", or maybe two of them now that he thought about it, and a W. Having forgotten most of the past letters as well, he had no clue what it could be spelling out. By now it was way too many to be a single word. It had to be a sentence.

But what did he need it for? Junmyeon was almost as curious as Jongdae was and it was so tempting to just ask the guy as soon as he entered the coffee shop. He didn’t though. He didn’t want to impose. 

 

Sehun, who had been working there for a week or so now, was slowly getting the hang of how everything worked in the coffee shop. He had some problems with the recipes, and Junmyeon could see why. The guy had never worked in a coffee shop before and their menu wasn’t exactly tiny. But still, other than the baking he was doing a good job. He always showed up on time, he was nice and polite with the customers and he was always happy to help Junmyeon clean without even having been asked to do so.

He got along pretty well with Jongdae and Chanyeol as well, and himself of course. Junmyeon often overheard Jongdae and Sehun chatting about school, or complaining he should say, and Chanyeol took it upon himself to teach the younger how to make a good looking sandwich. 

The four always had something to talk about during their breaks. Sehun had some fun babysitting stories which left the other three almost falling off their chairs with laughter.

The younger was going to fit right in with the other three. 

 

Sunday lasted for what felt like only a few hours and Monday arrived before Junmyeon knew it. He wasn’t complaining though. He liked his job and he could barely wait to get to work. Jongdae had several times asked if he was actually a robot that never got tired, and that for some reason didn’t despise Mondays like everyone else on this planet. 

It was just Junmyeon that Monday, meaning no Jongdae being suspicious that he was a robot. Sehun had school, Jongdae had his classes and Chanyeol was taking a day off, which he did suggest Junmyeon doing as well. Junmyeon wasn’t planning on taking a day off to just sit on the couch and watch TV or something all day when he could work and do what he loved. 

 

Waiting for a customer to finally enter, it was ten past seven already, he grabbed a broom and started sweeping the floor. No matter how much he cleaned it, it got just as dirty right away, but he still had to clean it or else the floor would turn into a beach in no time. 

As he cleaned, he hummed quietly to a song he’d been listening to on his way to work. It was one of those that when you listened to it, it just got stuck in your head and you had to sing it for a few days to get it out. It could be annoying, but luckily this was a song he actually liked so he didn’t mind, until he got tired of it that is. 

A few minutes later and his humming had turned into singing. He, plus his broom and the song, was lost in his own world, forgetting where he was and what he was doing. 

 

"You’ve got a nice voice, Junmyeon."


	13. Chapter 13

Junmyeon dropped his broom in surprise and it fell right to the floor with a smack. He had been so far into his own world that he hadn't even heard the door. 

It was him, the guy out of all people. The same one who’d seen him spill water because he hadn’t realised he had been drinking. The same one who’d seen him laying on the ground after he’d fainted because he gave him a one million won pen. He probably thought Junmyeon was a complete klutz, which he wasn’t. He just happened to be really clumsy whenever the guy was there.

 

Speaking of him, he was standing by the counter, probably waiting for Junmyeon to actually do his job. After picking up the broom again, and trying to get rid of the obvious blush on his cheeks, Junmyeon went over to the counter. He placed the broom beside him. "I didn’t mean to scare you", the guy said, a small smile on his face.

"It’s fine", Junmyeon assured him. "I was just a little lost in my own world. Sorry you had to wait. I’m sure you’re very busy." The guy pulled out his wallet. "It’s fine. I always have time for my favourite barista." Favourite barista? He was his favourite? A smile slowly made its way onto Junmyeon’s lips. He was the guy’s favourite barista. 

"I’ll take the usual." The guy opened his wallet and pulled out a card. 

 

Junmyeon grabbed a cup and a pen, not the million won pen. He’d sent Sehun to go buy a new pack, a pack of cheap ones. The million won pen was in Junmyeon’s coat pocket. He didn’t want to use it, planning on giving it back to the guy someday.

"Which letter do you want today then?"

"H", the guy replied, watching as Junmyeon wrote down the letter on the cup. "You’ve got a nice voice by the way", he said all of the sudden and Junmyeon looked up from the cup, placing the pen down on the counter. "Thank you. I mean, I’m not that good really.. I was just-."

"I think so."

 

"Thank you." Junmyeon flashed him a smile before turning away to start on the latte. 

 

Junmyeon was was in the middle of making the latte when the silence was broken. "Do you like Chinese food?", the guy asked. Junmyeon glanced at him over his shoulder, wondering if he was actually talking to him. "Uh, what?"

"Do you like Chinese food?", he asked once more. Was he going to tease him about the water thing? And here Junmyeon thought the guy was nice. "Yeah?", Junmyeon replied, but it almost ended up sounding like a question. "Cool. Me too." Or maybe he was nice after all. 

 

"Here you go." Junmyeon handed the guy his latte with a smile. "I hope you enjoy it. Have a nice day." The guy smiled back at him, giving Junmyeon a strange feeling in his chest. "You too." With that the guy was gone.

 

Some hours passed and the clock hit three o’clock. Junmyeon was starting to get tired, all the smiling was starting to get a little tiring and he had been running back and forth between taking orders, watching the oven and making sure the tables were clean. He still didn’t want to go home though. Even though he was tired, work was still fun. He just wished one of the other three were with him so he didn’t have to do everything by himself. How had been doing this alone for so long?

Like the gods, or whoever was out there, had heard him, the one and only Kim Jongdae entered, a big smile on his face. What had gotten him so happy? Didn’t he have English with that professor he always complained about? 

"Hey, Jun! How’s it going here?"

"Not bad, but could be better", Junmyeon replied, shrugging. "Why are you so happy? Don’t you have English today?", he asked. "I do actually." The younger walked up to him, resting his elbows on the counter. "I had English around an hour ago or so and I was planning on surprising you by showing up to work. Aren’t you happy to see me?"

 

"I am. I could use some help", Junmyeon admitted. "I almost burned the bread because I had another three things to make." Jongdae just laughed, resting his chin in his palms. "What would you do without me?", he said. "Well.. Except burning the bread."

"Yeah, what would I do without you?" Junmyeon disappeared into the back of the coffee shop, returning a few moments later with Jongdae’s apron. "But what’s gotten you so happy?", he asked, handing the younger the apron. "Oh, nothing." Jongdae removed his jacket, replacing it with the apron. "I was just talking to someone."

"Oh really? Who?", Junmyeon asked, wondering who he could’ve talked to that had made him that happy. He’d been smiling ever since he entered the shop. "Just a friend", Jongdae replied, keeping his answers short and not giving Junmyeon a lot of information. Which was fine. He wasn’t going to press the information out of him if he didn’t want to tell him. 

 

"Alright then. Could you take the trash out?"

Jongdae’s smile slowly disappeared and Junmyeon chuckled as he watched the younger disappear into the back.


	14. Chapter 14

The rest of the day, Jongdae seemed to never stop smiling. Even when he took the trash out, Junmyeon noticed his lips curled up into a small smile. What had gotten him so happy? Who was this friend he’d been talking to?

"Are you going to tell me who this friend is?", Junmyeon asked, leaning against the counter beside Jongdae who was currently stacking some blueberry yoghurt cookies on a tray. He noticed him pushing a few to the side though, even though the tray wasn’t full. 

"Nope." Junmyeon looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Are you stealing cookies?", he teasingly asked and the younger quickly shook his head. "No no no. I just need them for something." He didn’t seem to have noticed that it was just a joke. "Okay then. I was just messing with you. Go ahead and take those cookies, you made them after all."

 

"Jongdae. It’s half past five", Junmyeon told him. "I’m closing now so you better hurry before I lock you in." There was still a smile on his face as he removed his apron, grabbing his jacket. He grabbed his brown bag with the coffee shop’s logo on it, filled with the blueberry yoghurt cookies he needed for something, and went right out the door before Junmyeon could pull out his keys or say goodbye.

"Bye, Jun! I’ll see you tomorrow!" 

 

The clock hit six and Junmyeon was sat in his apartment, finishing his dinner. Other than taking a look at some bills, he had nothing to do and it was tempting to pick up his phone and ask his three coworkers if they wanted to hang out. It wasn’t that late after all. They had at least a few hours to maybe go get something to eat or watch a movie.

Jongdae couldn’t, which wasn’t much of a surprise considering he looked like he was in a hurry. He told him he was busy, which also wasn’t a surprise. Chanyeol couldn’t either. He was apparently hanging out with some friends or something and had planned to stay overnight.

Junmyeon’s last resort was Sehun, the youngest out of the four. It took him a while to answer, twelve minutes to be exact, but eventually he got a reply. The younger had agreed and Junmyeon was happy someone had finally said yes. If not, he probably be stuck to the couch for the rest of the night before going to sleep. It was nice to go out once in a while, other than going to work.

 

The two agreed to meet up at a movie theatre to watch a new movie that had just come out. Junmyeon didn’t know which one it was, but according to the younger it was a scary one. He didn’t really watch scary movies, but Sehun apparently did so he agreed. It couldn’t be that scary. It was a movie after all. A movie with actors who were just pretending. 

Junmyeon has never been to that specific movie theatre before and did therefore have no clue where it was or where anything in it was. A few minutes later than they’d originally planned, Junmyeon arrived and the younger lead the way to where they would get their tickets. As they walked, Sehun told him more about the movie. It was apparently really good and he’d been waiting for ages to see it. 

Junmyeon on the other hand had never heard about it. He wasn’t really interested in scary movies, never having seen one before. It couldn’t be that bad though. 

 

"So", Sehun said and grabbed the two tickets. "Where’s Jongdae and Chanyeol? Were they busy?", he asked, handing one of the tickets to Junmyeon. "Yeah. Jongdae said he was busy, which wasn’t a surprise since he ran off as soon as I told him I was closing the shop", Junmyeon explained. "And Chanyeol said he was hanging out with friends."

"Oh. So I was your last resort?" Sehun was clearly just joking, but Junmyeon quickly shook his head, not wanting the other to think that. "I was planning on asking all three of you, but they didn’t have time so I thought I’d ask you anyway and see if you wanted to hang out."

He got a pat on the back and a smile in return. "I’m just kidding. You’re way too nice to do anything like that."

 

The hand on his back stayed there until they got into the movie theatre. As they were early, not many people were there yet so they didn’t have to awkwardly step past people already sitting in their seat, trying not to knock into someone.

Barely a minute after they had found their seats and sat down, Sehun was back on his feet. "I’ll go buy us something. I’ll be back in a second."

 

A few minutes passed and the lights went off, the screen lighting up. Sehun wasn’t back yet, but the movie wasn’t starting yet so he still had time. Looking around, Junmyeon noticed that the movie theatre was a lot more full than last time he checked. There was still no sign of Sehun yet though. 

Another few minutes passed and Sehun was still not back. Had he left? He wouldn’t, right? Junmyeon got the urge to pull out his phone to check, but it would light up in the dark like a thousand suns so he’d rather not. 

"Hey. I’m back", Sehun said, sitting down in his seat. Junmyeon jumped in his seat, not noticing him until he spoke. "That scared you?", the younger teased. "Then just wait until you see the movie."

 

By the first half of the movie, Junmyeon was regretting letting the younger pick this one. It was a waste of money on Junmyeon’s part who didn’t even look at the screen half the time. He didn’t want to get scared and make some weird noises right in front of Sehun. He’d already done enough embarrassing things, thank you. He’d rather not make some more. 

 

"Hey, you’re not even looking." Junmyeon felt a finger poke at his left shoulder. "You’re missing out." He looked back up at the screen. "I was just thinking", he explained. "I’m looking." And just a moment later he was gripping Sehun’s hand that was resting on the armrest between them. 

 

Or.

At least he thought it was him.


	15. Chapter 15

The hand he was holding, which he still was convinced was Sehun’s, gave his own hand a gentle squeeze. Junmyeon glanced down, the feeling of cold metal touching his skin catching his attention. 

 

Wait.

Sehun hadn’t been wearing rings. Or a dress shirt. And was that a Rolex? His eyes travelled up from the hand he was still holding, up the dress shirt clad arm and up to whoever’s face this was. As it was dark, he couldn’t really see them, but when the screen lit up a few seconds later he could. 

It was him. The guy. The guy ordering lattes from him every morning. The guy he’d embarrassed himself in front of plenty of times already, was now holding his hand. Or, Junmyeon was the one who was holding his.

Still, they were holding hands. 

 

It didn’t seem like the guy had any plans of letting go of his hand, and Junmyeon made no move to remove his hand. So there they sat, with their hands resting on the armrest between them, their fingers intertwined. None of them had said anything yet and it was awkward, at least on Junmyeon’s part. The guy probably just thought it was funny.

But still, he wasn’t moving out of Junmyeon’s grip. Maybe he was scared too? He didn’t seem scared though. He, unlike Junmyeon, was looking at the screen. 

 

So there he sat, the movie almost done apparently which he hadn’t noticed, holding hands with the guy that bought a latte from him everyday. Every time something scary happened, Junmyeon gave the other’s hand a squeeze, avoiding looking at the screen. 

He glanced at Sehun once in a while, checking if they younger had noticed, but he was too busy watching the movie to notice. If he did notice, he was going to ask questions and what was Junmyeon going to say. "Oh, yeah. I’m just holding this random guy’s hand because I’m scared." 

 

Eventually the movie came to an end, which Junmyeon was happy about because he wasn’t sure how much longer he wanted to look into thin air while listening to the screams from the movie, and the lights were slowly coming back on. Junmyeon let go of the guy’s hand so he could stand up. 

"Did you like it?", Sehun asked, picking up his jacket. "Uh. Yeah. It was good", Junmyeon replied, glancing over his shoulder. The guy was nowhere to be seen, probably already having left. "Really?"

"Yeah. It was nice. I liked it", Junmyeon said, even though he hadn’t even watched half the movie. "So it wasn’t too scary for you?", the younger asked, closing his jacket and turning around to walk towards the stairs. Junmyeon followed him, but stopped as he noticed a little piece of paper on the armrest. The same armrest his and the guy’s hands had been. Letting his curiosity get to him, he picked it up before quickly catching up to Sehun.

It was a ticket. A ticket to the movie they’d just watched. It must’ve belonged to the guy and he dropped it or something. Being the good person he was, he decided to throw it away for him. Before he did though, he took a look at it.

Row 12, seat 9. Huh. 

He pulled out his own ticket. Row 5, seat 17. That wasn’t even close to row 12, seat 9. Why had been sitting next to him? 

 

Not thinking anything more of it, he threw the movie tickets away and followed Sehun outside. The guy probably wanted to sit closer to the screen because he, unlike Junmyeon, liked the movie. 

"So. What was your favourite part?", Sehun asked as they walked out the doors, holding the door open for Junmyeon. "Mine was the dragon", he said. "Wasn’t it so cool?"

"Uh.. Yeah. That was my favourite part too actually", Junmyeon replied, nodding. There was a dragon? He hadn’t even noticed. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Sehun laughing, wrapping an arm around Junmyeon’s shoulders. "You’re so funny."

"What? What’s funny?" 

"You really weren’t paying attention to the movie, were you?" 

"Of course I was", Junmyeon denied. "I got a little distracted once in a while, but I was paying attention." Sehun laughed, his hand squeezing his shoulder. "There wasn’t any dragon in the movie so I highly doubt you were."

"I knew that. I was just joking", Junmyeon explained. Sehun just laughed, letting go of him as they parted ways. "I’ll see you at work, Junmyeon."


	16. Chapter 16

As expected, the guy showed up the next morning at the coffee shop. He was later than usual. Almost half past seven. Junmyeon hadn’t been there when he arrived. It was Sehun who was behind the counter that morning, while Junmyeon was in the back, taking care of the dishes. 

Sehun, unlike Jongdae, hadn’t forced the poor guy to get a latte, but had just accepted the order of one coffee and a sandwich. But as he had just turned around to get the guy his order, he had stopped him. Sehun turned back around, thinking he changed his mind and wanted something else.

Instead of asking for something else, he asked for someone else. He asked where Junmyeon was. He had seemed impatient, tapping his fingers on the counter with one hand while he looked at his watch on his wrist. That watch looked more expensive than anything Sehun owned. The guy had to be rich.

 

"Hey, Junmyeon. The guy’s here, looking for you", Sehun said, walking into the back of the coffee shop. He leaned against a counter, his arms crossed over his chest. "Really? Did he say why?" Junmyeon placed the cup in his hand down on the counter beside him along with the towel. "No. He just asked if you were here."

"Okay then. Could you continue with the dishes, please?" The younger nodded and Junmyeon walked past him and out into the front to see what the guy wanted.

What happened at the movie theatre flashed before Junmyeon’s eyes as he walked through the door, seeing the guy standing in front of the counter. He was looking at his, clearly expensive, watch, but looked up as he heard Junmyeon enter. "Hello."

 

"Hi. You wanted to see me?" Junmyeon got behind the counter. He struggled to keep eye contact, trying to stop himself from turning the same colour as flowers on the shelf behind him as he thought about the evening before. "I wanted to order your specialty", the guy said. "They’re really good when you make them."

"No offence to the coworker of yours, Chen right?" Junmyeon picked up a cup, nodding. "None taken, on my part at least", he said and laughed. The guy smiled, letting out a chuckle. "Would he be offended?"

"Probably. He can be a little dramatic", Junmyeon replied, picking up a pen. "Just don’t tell him I said that." The guy smiled at him. "I won’t."

"So. Which letter do you want today?", Junmyeon asked, ready to write. "M." He wrote down the letter and turned around to start making the guy the latte. 

 

"Here you go." Junmyeon placed the latte down with a smile. "Thanks." The guy didn’t turn around and leave like he usually would as soon as he got his latte though. Instead it looked like he was eyeing the baked goods, maybe planning on getting something else as well. "Could I get a blueberry yoghurt cookie as well?"

"Yeah, of course." Junmyeon picked the best looking one, putting it in a brown bag with the little cup and cookie on it. The guy paid and Junmyeon handed him his cookie. "Thank you."

"Have a nice day!", Junmyeon said as he watched the guy leave. "You too." The guy flashed him one last smile and then he was gone. 

 

"What did he want, Junmyeon?", Sehun asked, leaning against the doorframe. He had his arms crossed over his chest. "Oh." Junmyeon turned around, not having noticed the younger before he started talking. "He just wanted a Lavender Vanilla Latte And a cookie", he said. 

The younger nodded. "He seems really into that LaVa latte", he said. "It’s practically all he orders, but he never orders it from anyone else."

"Maybe he thinks I make it better than you three", Junmyeon teasingly said. Sehun just laughed. "What? What’s so funny about that? You don’t think it’s good?" Junmyeon picked up a cup. "I’ll make you one right now and you’ll see why he likes it."

 

A few minutes later Sehun was taking his first ever sip of Junmyeon’s specialty, a Lavender Vanilla latte. "So?" Junmyeon raised an eyebrow, waiting for a response. "What do you think?", he asked. "Do you see why he only wants them from me now?" Sehun was taking a long sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed. 

Finally he stopped. He nodded. "It’s good", he said. "Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to take the rest."

Junmyeon chuckled. "Yeah. Go ahead."

 

The next morning it was just Junmyeon again. Jongdae and Sehun had school, and Chanyeol was coming to work a few hours later. So it was just him, but he was used to that, having worked alone for quite a while until the day Jongdae showed up, asking for work.

The guy came back, which wasn’t much of a surprise. Junmyeon was starting to wait for the guy by now, and whenever he was late, he couldn’t help but wonder where he was. 

It was only seven when the guy showed up, which was earlier than usual. It was only a few minutes early, but still, he was never that early. 

"Hello! Welcome to See You Latte Coffee Shop", Junmyeon greeted him. The guy smiled at him and once again felt that weird feeling in his chest. He had a nice smile. "Hi. I’ll take the usual." Junmyeon, who’d already picked up a cup and a pen, ready to write down that day’s letter, nodded. "Another letter?", he asked.

"E."

 

Junmyeon looked up from the cup once he’d written the letter down. "Do you mind if I ask what you need these for?", he asked, finally gathering the courage to ask him. Maybe he’d give him an answer now that Jongdae wasn’t there. 

But no. No answer. "You’ll just have to see tomorrow, don’t you, Junmyeon", the guy said, his lips forming a grin. Tomorrow? Was he planning on telling him tomorrow? Why tomorrow?

Why not today?


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning it was just Junmyeon, but Chanyeol was coming to work just a short while later. He was excited, had been the entire time since the guy left really, about today. Today was the day he finally got to find out what the guy needed all those cups with letters on them for. 

He was clearly spelling something out, a sentence most likely, but what was that sentence? He barely remembered the earliest letters so he had no idea what he could be spelling. Was it just a joke with his friend, or did it have more meaning? It was an awful lot of time to spend on a joke though. He’d been coming by for a month or something. 

 

Junmyeon was looking through the mess Jongdae liked to call a system under the counter. There were papers everywhere, both plain, unused ones and ones with random things written on them, pens, which were used, and a lot of other random things. It was far from systematic, it was a mess under there. He did not want to know what kinds of "systems" Jongdae had at home. 

The sound of the door caught Junmyeon’s attention and he quickly got up on his feet, hitting his head on the counter in the progress. He groaned in pain, placing his hand on his now hurting head. He really needed to stop doing that or he was going to give himself a concussion. 

 

It wasn’t the guy, and Junmyeon was disappointed. It was nearing eight o’clock now and the guy was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he wasn’t going to tell him what it was for anyway? Maybe he was done and the joke was over?

It was Chanyeol who walked in. Of course Junmyeon was happy to see him, he hadn’t seen him in a while, but still. He wanted to know what the cups were about. 

 

"Are you okay?", Chanyeol asked, slipping his coat off his shoulders. "Yeah. I’m fine", Junmyeon replied, nodding. "I just thought you were someone else."

Chanyeol’s lips slowly curled up into a grin. "Oh really?", he said, sounding awfully a lot like Jongdae. "Who? That guy?" Junmyeon gently rubbed his still hurting head. "I wasn’t waiting for him, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just thought you were a customer", he explained the younger. 

"I could always buy a latte from you, if that’ll help?", Chanyeol teased. 

 

"Yeah. Go ahead. That just means more money to the coffee shop", Junmyeon said, shrugging his shoulders. "Alright. I want a D written", Chanyeol started, disappearing to the back for a moment. He returned in his apron. "Then an I", he continued, getting in front of the counter. 

Junmyeon didn’t move, already knowing where this was going. "And a C on one of those", Chanyeol said, pointing to the menu behind Junmyeon, who didn’t turn to look. He was looking at something else. 

 

"And on the last one-." Chanyeol didn’t get to continue as Junmyeon grabbed his collar, pulling him closer as he leaned over the counter. "Oh, wow. I know I’m irrestible, but Junmyeon. We’re in public." The grin was back on his lips and he rested his elbows on the counter.

"What’s that on your neck?", Junmyeon asked and the grin on the taller’s lips slowly disappeared. "Nothing." He quickly pulled away, grabbing Junmyeon’s wrist to get out of his grip on his collar. "There’s nothing on my neck. What are you talking about?"

 

"Yeah there is", Junmyeon said, only gripping Chanyeol’s collar tighter. "Is it a-."

"It’s a rash", Chanyeol said, finally getting out of Junmyeon’s grip. "I was itching and I must’ve scratched it too much or something." Junmyeon looked at him with an eyebrow raised. What did he think he was? Stupid? "Oh really?" Chanyeol nodded. "Yes, really."

 

"Why is it purple then?"

"It’s an allergic reaction probably."

"Since when have allergic reactions turned your skin purple?"

"Since now."

 

"I mean.. It looks a lot like a-." Chanyeol interrupted him once more. "It’s a bug bite." Junmyeon leaned closer, taking a closer look. He was practically climbing over the counter. "It doesn’t look like a bug bite", he said.

"Well, it is", Chanyeol said, attempting to hide his neck with his shirt, but as it was just a regular shirt it didn’t cover anything, sliding right back down his neck. "What’s the bug called?", Junmyeon asked, but he was clearly asking for something else than a type of bug. "I don’t know."

"You don’t know? Why aren’t you seeing a doctor?"

"You know, Junmyeon, that’s a great idea. I’ll do that later", Chanyeol said. "Oh would you look at the time." He looked down at his right wrist. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a watch, just that the taller’s watch was not on his right wrist, but on the left one. "I better go make something and not just stand here." 

Chanyeol disappeared into the back of the shop before Junmyeon could say anything else. 

 

A few hours passed and the guy was still nowhere to be seen. Junmyeon was starting to lose hope that he was going to come at all. He was probably busy and didn’t have time to come tell a random barista what he needed some cups for. 

Junmyeon had been cleaning a table when he heard the door and he nearly dropped the plate in his hand as he spun around to see who it was. It wasn’t him and Junmyeon sighed quietly in disappointment. 

This time, it was Jongdae who entered the coffee shop. He was happy to see the student, but he wouldn’t have minded if it was the guy instead. 

 

"Hey, Jun", Jongdae greeted him, letting the door shut behind him. "Why do you look so disappointed?", he asked. "Aren’t you happy to see me? I’m hurt." The younger placed a hand on his chest, right over his heart, looking at Junmyeon with a hurt expression on his face. He was clearly just joking, but Junmyeon still assured him he was very happy to see him. "Of course I am. I’m always happy to see my favourite music major."

"I’m your favourite music major? I feel honoured." Jongdae smiled at him, undoing the buttons on his coat. "Is Chanyeol here?", he asked.

"He’s in the ba-." And then Jongdae was gone, disappearing into the back of the shop before Junmyeon could finish his sentence. Strange.

 

Speaking of sentence. Where was the guy? It was almost two o’clock. He did say he had to wait until tomorrow to find out. He said that yesterday so tomorrow was today, but he was still not showing up. Had he changed his mind? Was it just a joke?

 

The clock hit five and it was time for Junmyeon to close the coffee shop. Jongdae and Chanyeol had left a while ago, disappearing before Junmyeon could even open his mouth to say goodbye. 

The guy was still nowhere to be seen as Junmyeon pulled up the zipper of his coat and as he wrapped his scarf around his neck. He grabbed his things, placing them by the counter before he went to into the back to take the trash out, but not before taking one last look at the door. 

He returned to the front of the shop a little while later after turning the lights of in the back. It was dark and quiet and Junmyeon was regretting watching that movie with Sehun. He shrugged, or tried to, the thoughts about monsters and shadows away as he picked up his things, shoving his phone into his pocket. 

 

Either it it was his imagination or someone was actually looking at him because it sure felt like it. He glanced around, just to make sure, but the coffee shop was empty. After making sure there weren’t any monsters or shadows in his coffee shop, thank Christ there weren’t any, he made his way over to the door, stopping to look for his keys

He was about to place his hand on the door handle when he heard something. Did someone just clear their throat? 

He looked over his shoulder and he could swear he could hear his own heartbeat. Was it just him or was someone standing behing the counter? He had to be imagining things. He should not have watched that movie with Sehun. 

 

He eventually gathered the the courage to turn around to take a proper look. His heart was in his throat by now. He had to be imagining this. There couldn’t be anyone behind the counter. It had to be his eyes playing tricks on him. 

Junmyeon stood there for a while, his hand on the door handle behind him, ready to just open the door and leave. 

 

And then, out of nowhere, the lights flickered on. Junmyeon let out a, very manly, scream as he saw someone standing behind the counter. 

He quickly placed a hand over his mouth as he saw who it was. It was him. The guy. The guy ordering lattes from him every morning. Junmyeon could feel his cheeks burning. He’d just screamed like a little girl seeing a monster in front of this guy.

 

The guy was holding a plastic cup and a pen. It was when he placed the cup down he noticed what was standing on the counter. Plastic cups. Twenty three of them. All of them showing a letter, except the last one with a question mark. 

 

"DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT WITH ME?"

 

Junmyeon doesn’t remember what happened next as everything went black.


	18. Chapter 18

Junmyeon’s head is resting on something when he starts gaining consciousness. It’s not necessarily soft, but not hard like the floor either. Did he get a concussion and ended up in the hospital?

His eyes slowly opened and he squinted as he took a look around, his eyes not used to the light yet. His eyes met the guy’s eyes and he realised what his head was resting on. His lap. He had his head in the guy’s lap. 

 

Junmyeon made a move to sit up, but he was stopped by a hand on his chest, keeping him in place. "You shouldn’t rush", the guy said. Junmyeon stayed quiet, not really sure what to say. "You hit your head pretty hard as you fainted."

"I don’t want you fainting again." How nice of him. Junmyeon could feel his cheeks heating up and he moved a hand to cover it. That’s when he realised something was draped over his body. A jacket? His hand fumbled around, trying to find a way out of the jacket so he could cover his face before the guy noticed. 

 

It seemed like it was too late though. The guy placed the hand that had previously been on his chest, on his forehead. He probably thought he had a fever. Well, it was better than him thinking he was blushing. "Does your head hurt?"

Junmyeon wanted to nod, but it was difficult in his position. "A little bit", he replied, his voice almost cracking. How long had he been out? "I can see why. You smacked your head right on the floor." He did? By this rate he was getting a concussion in no time. "Do you think you need a doctor?", the guy asked, running his fingers up into Junmyeon’s hair. 

Junmyeon wasn’t really paying attention. All he could think about was the fingers running through his hair, pushing the dark locks out of his face. "Pardon?", he finally said, realising the guy had said something. 

 

"I asked if you need a doctor", the guy repeated. "No, I’m fine. I just have a bit of a headache", Junmyeon replied, frowning ever so slightly as the removed his hand from his hair. "You sure?" 

Junmyeon sat up before the guy could stop him this time. "Yeah. I’m just fine", he assured him, grabbing the jacket draped across his lap. It was a suit jacket. An expensive looking one at that. Before he handed it back, he took a look at the brand and he almost choked on the air he was breathing in. That was a Burberry suit jacket. Burberry. A designer brand with suits so expensive he couldn’t even dream about getting one with the money he had.

 

How did the guy have so much money? How much money did he even have? He had to be a billionaire if he had suits like this one, gave away pens worth a million and was that a gold Rolex on his wrist? The guy held out his hand, clearly wanting his jacket, his very expensive designer jacket, back. 

Junmyeon just started at his hand for a few seconds before handing the jacket to him. "I was planning on giving you a hand and help you get up, but thank you", the guy said. "Oh! I’m sorry. Thanks." He grabbed the guy’s hand, letting him pull him up on his feet. 

 

"Are you sure you’re okay?", the guy asked, slipping on his suit jacket. "This was really not what I had planned." Junmyeon’s head snapped towards the counter, remembering why he had even fainted in the first time. All the cups were still there, spelling out the sentence. 

"DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT WITH ME?"

 

Junmyeon looked back at the guy, who was still talking. "I mean, Luhan told me it’d be romantic if I made it a surprise, kind of like a surprise birthday party", he said, buttoning his jacket. "But I didn’t think that it would scare you and I can assure you I never meant to scare you like this."

 

Junmyeon looked back over at the cups. "I should’ve said something first instead of scaring the life out of you. I’m sorry for making you faint-."

 

"I’d love to go out with you", Junmyeon said and the guy stopped talking. "What?" He was clearly surprised, not expecting him to say that. 

"I want to go out with you." Junmyeon could see a smile forming on the guy’s face, showing him his perfect, white teeth. "Really?" He nodded. "Even thought I scared you half to death?" He nodded once more. "Great! I’ll pick you up at eight tomorrow evening, okay?"

 

The next day it was Junmyeon who was the one smiling, at least smiling the most as Jongdae was always smiling for some reason. It was like he never stopped, especially the last couple of days. As soon as the student arrived, he went right into the back, a big smile on his face. 

"What’s gotten you so happy?", Jongdae asked, watching from the door leading into the front of the shop as Junmyeon smiled down at the soapy dishes in front of him. "I’m assuming it’s not the dishes." 

 

"The guy came by as I was closing yesterday", Junmyeon started and Jongdae got closer, leaning against the counter beside the sink instead. "What were the cups for?", he asked. "Did he tell you? What did he say? What was he spelling out?"

"Do you want to go out with me", Junmyeon replied. "Well. You’re a good looking and nice guy, Jun, but I’m afraid I’m ta-." Junmyeon laughed. "I meant, that’s what the cups spelled out", he said.

"He asked me out."

 

Jongdae’s eyes widened. "Really?" He stepped away from the counter, engulfing Junmyeon into a tight hug. "How romantic! What did he say? What did you say? When is it? Where?" Junmyeon tried to keep his wet hands away as well as hugging the younger back, a big smile on his face. 

Worried about Jongdae never letting it go, he didn’t tell him about the fainting part. He was not interested in Jongdae teasing him for the rest of his life, thank you very much. "He just stood behind the counter where all the cups were lined up, spelling "DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT WITH ME". Obviously I said yes", he said. "And he said he’d pick me up at eight. Most likely here."

 

"I’m so happy for you! It’s like seeing my child getting their first boyfriend!" 

"Hey, I’m older than you."

"Who cares, you’re going on a date, Junmyeon!"


	19. Chapter 19

"So is that what you’re planning on wearing?", Jongdae asked out of nowhere.

It was the day for Junmyeon’s date and he couldn’t be happier. Who knew he’d score a date? A date with a stranger, but a nice, handsome stranger though. He wouldn’t have agreed to go out with someone he’d never seen before, but he’d seen the guy at the coffee shop for around a month. By now he was almost an acquaintance.

 

"Yeah?" Junmyeon looked down at what he was wearing. He had his apron, but he was obviously not going to wear that to the date. Under it he had a plain, black sweater and some nice jeans. He didn’t know where he was going so he didn’t want to show up in a full on suit. 

"Junmyeon." Jongdae placed a hand on his shoulder. "You’re going on a date, a date with a possible billionaire, not to the shopping centre to buy some apples, Jun", he said, patting his shoulder. "It’s too.." He eyed him up and down. "Boring."

 

"Well, I don’t know where I’m going", Junmyeon replied, rearranging the decorations on the counter. It was almost November already and Junmyeon had been putting out some Halloween decorations when Jongdae had started worrying about his choice of clothes. 

"Junmyeon. He’s a possible billionaire, or a criminal. He’s not going to take you to the park to feed ducks", Jongdae said. "You need to look good." He noticed the look he got and patted his shoulder again. "Not that you don’t already look good", he added. "But you should try to put a little bit more effort into your outfit today. Put some nice shoes on, and not Converse, maybe a blazer, some eyeliner."

 

"I don’t own eyeliner", Junmyeon said. "And what if it’s too much? I don’t want to show up in nice shoes and a blazer or something if we’re just going to get dinner or coffee."

"Haven’t you seen the guy, Jun?", Jongdae said, his eyebrow raised. "The suit, the watch, the pen and not to mention the car he drives. If he’s taking you to dinner, it won’t be fast food." Now it was Junmyeon’s turn to raise his eyebrow, a little confused. "The car he drives?"

"Yeah. Chanyeol bumped into him a while back on his way to work and apparently the guy drives a Ferrari or something like that", Jongdae explained. "But it could’ve been any car, Chanyeol’s not the biggest car person on the planet."

 

"So? Just because he’s rich doesn’t mean we’re going to a five-star restaurant or something", Junmyeon said, picking up the little pumpkin decoration and replacing it with a bigger one. "Alright. How about I get you a nice shirt at least? A white dress shirt and some eyeliner. You’ll look at least a little presentable."

 

So there he was, dressed in Jongdae’s white dress shirt and his own skinny jeans, waiting outside the coffee shop. His eyes were lined with black eyeliner and his eyes were not happy about it. Every other minute his eyes started watering, signaling they did not want that eyeliner there. 

It was almost eight and the guy was nowhere to be seen. He still had a few minutes though. He was probably just around the corner in his Ferrari, or whatever car it was.

 

The clock hit five past eight and the guy was still nowhere to be seen. It was just five minutes though. He was probably just a little late. Junmyeon could wait five minutes, no problem. The only thing annoying him about it was that his eyes kept watering because of the eyeliner. 

 

Five past eight turned into into half past eight and Junmyeon’s legs were getting tired of him just standing there. He glanced back at the coffee shop, wondering if he should go inside and wait there instead of out here in the cold. It was cold without his jacket, that Jongdae had taken with him, telling him he looked like an Eskimo with it on. Junmyeon had been fine with him taking it. He didn’t think he’d have to wait outside this long.

 

Five minutes later and the guy was still not showing up. Maybe he had forgotten it? Or changed his mind? What if he didn’t want to anyway? Or maybe it was just a joke? 

Junmyeon used a fist to rub his itching eye. He really hoped Jongdae didn’t have some eye disease that he was now getting through the eyeliner. 

 

A few minutes passed and Junmyeon finally decided to go inside. It was cold and the guy was probably not going to show up. It was almost nine and Junmyeon wasn’t going to stand around outside the entire night, waiting for someone who was probably not even going to show up. 

That’s when he heard it. He stopped, his hand on the door handle, ready to unlock the door and get inside. It was an engine. An engine running right behind him. He turned back around, letting go of the keys he had been holding in his back pocket. 

Right in in front of him was a sleek, black car. A very nice car. A very nice, expensive car. It had to be his. Why else would someone randomly park right by him? 

 

He watched as the car door in front of him opened and the guy stepped out. He was once again wearing a suit, most likely just as expensive as the last one, and he had a flower in his hand. On his face was a big smile, but it slowly disappeared as he noticed the shorter’s smudged eyeliner and watering eyes. 

 

"Are you crying?"


	20. Chapter 20

"Are you crying?"

 

The poor guy looked so worried, his eyebrows furrowed as he stepped closer. "I’m so sorry for being so late", he apologised. "I was just getting our date ready and I didn’t notice what time it was until it was almost half past eight. I’m so sorry."

"I’m not crying. It’s fine", Junmyeon said and the guy’s expression changed from worry to confusion. "But your eyes." He shoved a hand into his pocket, pulling out a handkerchief. "I get it if you’re upset. I should’ve paid more attention to the time. I just wanted our date to be perfect and none of my friends noticed anything either. I’m so sorry."

 

"It’s just the eyeliner my colleague put on me", Junmyeon explained, taking the handkerchief handed to him. "It’s making my eyes water." Using the handkerchief he gently rubbed his eye, trying to wipe away the eyeliner. 

He failed miserably, as Jongdae had forgotten to tell him it was waterproof and it couldn’t be wiped away just like that, ending up just spreading the makeup around his eyelid and making him look like a raccoon.

 

"Let me do it." Before Junmyeon could protest, the guy grabbed the handkerchief right out of his hand. "You’re just smearing it around." Junmyeon closed his eyes.

A few moments later he heard the car door again and he opened his eyes, a little bit worried the guy was leaving him, to see him holding a pack of wet wipes. He noticed him looking and smiled. "You never know when you need these", he said, but quickly realised what he had said. "Not like that. I mean for the car."

 

Once the eyeliner was wiped away, and he didn’t look like a crying raccoon anymore, the guy lead him over to the car, opening the door for him before walking around to the other side to get in as well. The car was so clean Junmyeon almost didn’t want to touch the door to close it in case he accidenly got eyeliner on it. 

He reached a hand out, after making sure there were no makeup on it, to close the door, but he stopped. The door was closing by itself. Just like magic. It didn’t just slam shut either. It had slowly closed, like those elevator doors except on a car. Junmyeon looked over at the guy sitting in the driver’s seat, not sure if he was seeing things or not. Did that door just close by itself? 

The guy wasn’t looking at him. He was busy shoving the pack of wet wipes back into the glove department and putting on his seatbelt. He was probably used to the door thing and didn’t even think twice about it. 

 

It was silent in the car and Junmyeon took the opportunity to look around and admire the car. Matte, black seats and interior, matching the suit the guy was wearing. There were a couple of screens Junmyeon didn’t really know what were for, along with some buttons controlling the temperature and so on. It looked really fancy. Way fancier than Junmyeon’s old Volkswagen. 

"I like your car", Junmyeon eventually said, breaking the silence. "Thank you." Speaking of silence, the car was awfully silent as if the engine wasn’t even on. Junmyeon was pretty sure it was. They were driving after all. "Do you like cars?"

"Well.. I guess", Junmyeon replied. "I don’t really know a lot about cars. Just how to drive one." The guy laughed at that. "No one I know is that interested either really so I barely know anything at all."

 

"But why is this car so silent? Cars aren’t this quiet as far as I know?", Junmyeon asked after a moment of silence. "It’s electric", the guy replied. "And what does that mean?"

"It doesn’t use diesel or anything, it uses electricity." Oh. That was pretty self explanatory actually. "Oh. Right. That makes sense."

 

"When are you planning on telling me your name exactly?", Junmyeon eventually asked. The guy hadn’t mentioned anything about his name since he arrived. He’d been sitting in the same car as the guy he was going on a date with that he didn’t even know the name of. 

"Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I was just a little stressed." The guy sent him an apologetic smile. "I’m Wu Yifan", he said. "And I would shake your hand, but I wouldn’t want to be late and on top of that crash the car on our first date."

Wu Yifan. That wasn’t Japanese. So the guy, that he now knew was called Yifan, was Chinese. 

 

"So, Yifan. Where are we going?", Junmyeon asked, a little worried he was underdressed. Yifan was wearing a suit and here he was in a dress shirt, jeans and Converse. On top of it all, his eyeliner was now gone. 

"Well. You like Chinese right?", Yifan asked. "Yeah. What about it?" 

"I think you can guess where we’re going."

 

Did he mean the Chinese restaurant? The one where he’d spilled water as Yifan watched as he’d smiled at him?

"If not, I could give you a hint."

"Uh, yeah sure. Go ahead." It had to be that restaurant. Where else?

 

"Water." Junmyeon could see a hint of a grin on the driver’s face and he immediately knew what he was referring to. 

 

"Hey! That was an accident!"


	21. Chapter 21

Just a little while later the car stopped and Junmyeon had indeed guessed right. Yifan had parked right in front of the same Chinese restaurant he’d been to with Jongdae, Chanyeol and Sehun before, and where he’d seen Yifan before.

"But, Yifan", the shorter said, looking over at Yifan who was already getting out. "It’s dark inside. It looks like it’s closed." He turned to open his own door, but it was already open, the cold air going right through the thin dress shirt he was wearing. 

"It is." What? But what were they doing there then if it was closed? "What are we doing here then?", Junmyeon asked, getting out and watching as the door slowly closed on it’s own behind him. "You could say that I have some contacts here and they let me have this date here."

 

Contacts? He knew the owner? The owner was Chinese, so maybe he knew him? Maybe they were friends? 

"Come on. Let’s go inside. You look cold." He followed Yifan over to the door, which was unlocked, and watched as Yifan opened it, holding it and looking at him. Realising he was holding the door open for him he quickly headed inside. "Thanks."

 

The restaurant was deserted and dark. They were having their date here? 

As Junmyeon looked around, the light got switched on and it was then he noticed one table looking a little different than the others. It was table that had been set. There were two plates, two glasses, two forks and knives and in the middle there was a candle, but it wasn’t lit. 

Yifan walked over to the table, pulling out a chair before walking around to the second chair. "Have a seat. I’ll just be right back", he said. 

"Where are you going?", Junmyeon asked after sitting down. "Oh, not far or anything. I just need to find Yixing, the chef of this place."

 

While he waited for the taller to return, Junmyeon took the opportunity to check his phone. As expected, a few texts from Jongdae asking him if he had gone on his date yet, if he needed more eyeliner and, one that didn’t really surprise him as it was Jongdae, him telling Junmyeon to "remember using protection, unless he wanted some disease". 

"Hey, Junmyeon." 

Junmyeon glanced over his shoulder, hearing Yifan call his name. He wasn’t alone. There was a guy with him, who was most likely this chef he mentioned. 

He got up to greet him. "This is Yixing. The "contact" I mentioned. He’s the chef here", Yifan explained. "Hello." Junmyeon flashed him a polite smile. "Nice to meet you, Junmyeon."

 

"So you’re the owner?", Junmyeon asked. "My friend loves this place." Yixing smiled, but shook his head. "Oh, no. I’m not the owner. I just work here as a chef."

"Then.. Who is the owner?"

"That’d be me", Yifan said. He owned the restaurant? No wonder he was rich. The restaurant was a popular place apparently. "Oh. You own this?"

"Yeah." 

"Do you.. own anything else?", Junmyeon asked. 

 

"A few more restaurants scattered around both Korea and China." Yifan had to be billionaire then, judging by his car, his clothes and the fact that he had money enough to give away a million won pen. He owned restaurants in both China and Korea, how could he not be? 

 

"Well. I better get back to the food", Yixing said. "I told Zitao to watch the soup. Who knows how long that’ll last before something happens." 

Junmyeon watched as he disappeared back into the back of the restaurant. "Who’s Zitao?", he asked once he was gone. "Does he work here too?"

 

"Oh, no." Yifan chuckled, leading Junmyeon back to the table. He pulled Junmyeon’s chair out for him before sitting down in his own. "He can’t cook to save himself. He’s my assistant." 

"Oh. Okay. What does that involve?", Junmyeon asked. 

"He arranges meetings, makes phone calls, does my errands, etc." Yifan laughed. "But does certainly not cook."

Junmyeon let out a chuckle. "Cooking’s not for everyone, I guess."

 

"You cook right?", Yifan asked. Junmyeon nodded. "Yeah, but I mostly just bake. I cook at home though", he replied. "At work I bake. I bake a lot of different things. Like cookies, muffins, cakes, but I also make sandwiches, although my coworker Chanyeol’s the best at sandwiches. He used to work at a really fancy restaurant."

"Chanyeol.. The tall one? With the eyebrows?"

"The one with big ears. The one that smiles almost all the time."

"Oh, him. Who’s the one with the eyebrows?"

"Oh that’s Sehun. He’s new", Junmyeon said. "And he’s the youngest, but he’s good at his job."

 

"Are anyone else back there?", Junmyeon asked, nodding towards the back. "Other than the chef and your assistant, I mean."

"Yeah." Yifan nodded. "There’s my accountant Luhan", he said. "Who’s also my friend, as well as Zitao. He insisted on coming with me, telling me I’ve got as much knowledge in preparing a date as a sack of potatoes."

Junmyeon couldn’t help but laugh at that. "He sounds nice." Yifan laughed as well. He had a nice laugh. One that made Junmyeon smile. "He is, most of the time at least."

 

"Anyone else?"

"A waiter. You’ve probably seen him around", Yifan said. "Minseok, but I think he’s called Xiumin." Junmyeon had never heard that name before, but the waiter wasn’t exactly what he had been paying attention to last time he was at the restaurant.

"Don’t think I’ve seen him, but I could be wrong."

 

The two continued talking for a while. They talked about everything from themselves, their hobbies and interests, hometowns, likes and dislikes, etc. to random stories from work or their childhood. Yifan seemed really nice and interesting and Junmyeon was not regretting agreeing to going on a date with him. 

 

"So. I just have to ask", Junmyeon said. "How did you come up with the cups?", he asked, barely noticing the guy walking over to the table, dressed in a white dress shirt and black pants. It was when he started pouring what Junmyeon assumed was wine into their glasses. That must’ve been that Minseok guy Yifan talked about. 

"Well. I have to admit I got a little help from Luhan with that idea", Yifan told him, thanking the guy, Minseok, for the wine before picking up his glass. "I told him I wanted to do something special and interesting to catch your attention and he told me you made some really good Lavender Vanilla Lattes, and that you wrote down the customer’s name on the cups which he said I could use to ask you out."

"Well you certainly caught my attention", Junmyeon said, picking up his own glass. "And Jongdae. He was the most curious one out of all of us. He could barely wait to know what you were planning on doing with the cups."

 

"Jongdae? That’s the shorter one right? Chen?"

Junmyeon nodded. "Yeah. Whines a lot, complains, laughs, teases. That pretty much sums him up as a person." Yifan laughed, taking a sip of his wine. "He sounds nice."

"Yeah. He is. He’d probably love that Luhan guy."

"Isn’t he already dating that Chanyeol guy though?" Junmyeon almost choked on his wine. "What? Could you repeat that?" Yifan looked at him with an eyebrow raised. 

 

"Zitao told me that Sehun told him two of his colleagues were dating. Apparently he caught them together in the back on some counter or something."

 

"We bake on those counters!"


	22. Chapter 22

Junmyeon sat there in shock. What had the two been doing on the counter, the counter where food was being made for their customers? He made a mental note to speak to Jongdae, and Chanyeol, once he got the chance to. No one was doing anything else than baking on those counters.

 

Wait. 

"Did you just say "Sehun told Zitao"? They know each other?", Junmyeon asked. Yifan nodded. "Yeah. Apparently they went to the same school."

"They went to the same school? The one Sehun attends right now?", Junmyeon asked. "Well. I don’t know which one that is, but probably. Zitao had just arrived from China so he had some classes with Sehun’s class to learn the language and things like that."

"Oh. How did he get the job as your assistant? He can’t be that old."

"Our families are friends and his parents suggested him to me since he was in need of a job", Yifan explained. "And I was in need of an assistant."

 

A few minutes passed and Junmyeon turned to look as he heard the door to the back opened. The waiter, Minseok, was back, but this time he had two bowls with him. Junmyeon watched as he placed the bowls down in front of the two of them. That was very little food to be dinner, wasn’t it? Especially as it was soup.

"What’s this?", Junmyeon asked.

 

"Cream corn soup", Yifan replied. "I wasn’t sure what you liked, or if you have any allergies, but I was hoping choosing something I like would work out."

"Oh." Junmyeon looked down at the bowl in front of him. It smelt good. "It looks good", he said. "I can’t wait to try it."

"Go ahead. I’m not stopping you."

 

"So. How long have you worked at that coffee shop?", Yifan asked, picking up his spoon. "You’re the owner right?" Junmyeon nodded, making sure to swallow and not make the same mistake as the last time he was in this restaurant. "Yeah. I’ve worked there for a few years now. Originally it was just me."

"And now it’s you and three others?"

"Yeah. Jongdae has worked there the longest, then Chanyeol and then Sehun", Junmyeon told him, placing his spoon down to take a sip of his wine. "So I haven’t known them for long, especially not Sehun, but we went to the movies the other day-. Wait."

"What?"

"The movie. You." Yifan raised an eyebrow. "You held my hand. What was that about? It wasn’t even your seat." Junmyeon swore he could see a faint light pink colour spread across Yifan’s cheeks. Was he blushing?

 

"First of all, I swear I’m not a creepy stalker. Zitao just told me Sehun was going out to watch a movie with a coworker, as in you, and I decided to go as well in hopes of seeing you", Yifan explained. "And I saw you so I decided to sit next to you and then you grabbed my hand and I didn’t let go because I liked it.. I swear I’m not a stalker."

"Zitao just randomly told you that?"

"I might’ve asked him to ask Sehun.. Which I really don’t mean to make sound creepy."

 

"Alright then." Junmyeon slowly nodded, taking a sip of his wine. "I liked it too."

 

A while later Minseok returned, taking their bowls and replacing them with two plates, these ones including more food. It looked good, but Junmyeon didn’t recognise what dish it was. Was it Chinese? They were in a Chinese restaurant after all. 

"What is this?", Junmyeon asked. 

"It’s chicken. Sticky orange chicken I believe", Yifan replied, already taking his first bite. "It’s really good. You’ll love it. Yixing can make anything good."

 

The chicken was indeed really good. It was gone before Junmyeon knew it and he made a mental note to remind himself to come back and order that dish some other time. 

"I see you liked the chicken", Yifan said before finishing his own, washing it down with a sip of wine. "Yeah. Yixing sure does know how to cook."

"I’ll tell him you said that. And who knows, maybe there’ll be some chicken left over for you if you decide to come by."

 

The dessert was apparently not ready yet so there they sat, not saying much as they waited. Junmyeon didn’t really know what to talk about. They’d talked about so much already. What more was there to tell? Junmyeon was pretty sure Yifan knew him better than himself by now. He knew all about his job, his interests and plenty of other things. 

Junmyeon glanced at him and noticed the other playing with something.

A pen. 

 

"Hey, Yifan." The other stopped what he was doing, placing the pen down on the table. "Yeah? Is there something wrong? Do you want more wine? Water? A napkin?"

"You gave me a pen a while ago. One worth one point one million won. What’s that about?", Junmyeon asked. "Do you just carry around expensive pens?"

"No. To be completely honest, I bought it for you."

 

"You bought me a pen worth more than a million?"

"Yeah. I didn’t know what else to give you. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise just yet so I wanted to get you something subtle", he explained. "I don’t think a one million won pen is very subtle, Yifan."

"True, but I couldn’t just give you a random cheap pen either. And I was pretty lucky since you just so happened to need a pen, and it seemed like you didn’t recognise the brand."

 

"Well, I don’t really look for expensive pens when I’m going shopping." Yifan chuckled and Junmyeon couldn’t help but smile. "Do you want to keep the pen?", Junmyeon asked. "I don’t really need a pen worth that much. I’m afraid to use it, or break it for that matter." Yifan just shook his head. "Keep it. I bought it for you."

 

Junmyeon opened his mouth to protest and tell him he really didn’t need the pen, but stopped as Minseok returned, this time empty handed. "Is the dessert ready yet?", Yifan asked. 

"Uh.. No, but it might be a little.." Minseok glanced over at the door.

 

"On fire."


	23. Chapter 23

The two by the table looked at each other, not sure if they’d heard the waiter correctly. On fire? As in, the dessert was burning? 

"On fire?", Yifan eventually said, pushing his chair back so he could get up. Junmyeon quickly did the same, picking up his phone from the table. "How did that happen?"

 

"Yixing went to wash his hands in the bathroom because there wasn’t any soap left so he told Zitao to watch over the dessert and it just started burning", Minseok explained. "But it’s fine now, well not the dessert, but we put out the fire, nothing’s damaged and everyone is fine."

"Well.." Yifan sighed. "Can you make more?", he asked. "Or something else maybe?"

"It’s going to take a while, but I’m sure we’ll manage before it gets too late", Minseok said. "How about you two do something else while you wait? Yixing can probably whip something up in the meantime." Yifan looked over at Junmyeon, raising an eyebrow as he waited for the other’s take on this. 

"Yeah, sure. Let’s go and do something. I guess just waiting here wouldn’t be that fun", Junmyeon said. "Not that sitting here with you wouldn’t be fun. I’m just saying we could probably find something else that’s more fun to do while we wait."

 

A few minutes later the two were standing outside the restaurant, not really sure what to do. There were a few restaurants and cafes around, but they had just eaten and were having dessert in just a little while so that was out of the question. 

Judging by Yifan’s suit, Yifan’s very expensive suit, he probably wasn’t up for something active. Junmyeon didn’t want his suit to be stained or anything. He’d feel too bad. 

 

"How about we just take a stroll?", Junmyeon suggested. "Look around in shops and so on. There’s a popular shopping area just some minutes away from here with all kinds of shops."

"But we don’t need to buy anything", he quickly added. "We can just look."

"Yeah, sure. That sounds great."

 

The two walked in silence, neither of them sure what to talk about. Junmyeon was lost in his own little world, thinking about the dessert, that had somehow caught on fire, two of his colleagues doing something completely else than what was supposed to be done on the counters in the back of the coffee shop, the fact that Sehun knew Yifan’s assistant and a lot more. 

 

He barely noticed something touching his hand, but as whatever it was continued touching his hand he looked down to see what it was. It was Yifan’s hand, Yifan clearly trying to send the shorter hints that he wanted to hold his hand in which Junmyeon responded by slipping his hand into his, looking away to make sure the taller couldn’t see his face in case it decided now was a good time to turn pink.

 

They walked hand in hand past all kinds of shops, everything from street food to clothing and makeup. They went into a few of them, looking through the isles containing the newest trends in fashion and accessories, still not letting go of the other’s hand. 

"Hey, Junmyeon. Look at these."

Junmyeon looked up from the glasses he had been looking at, that he actually considered getting because they looked really nice. He looked up at the taller to see him wearing some sunglasses, some bright pink, square shaped sunglasses. "Oh, wow. You look so good."

"Do I look cool?" Yifan finally let go of his hand, that had gotten embarrassingly clammy both because of nerves and the other’s body temperature, to go look for a mirror. 

"Wow. This is a look." Yifan laughed as he placed the glasses back where he found them, and Junmyeon smiled. 

 

"Junmyeon, try this." Before he could ask what it was or even look at what it was, it got placed on his head. Yifan adjusted it before pointing to a mirror. "Have a look."

A beret, but not only a beret. It was a leopard printed beret. A pink leopard printed beret.

"I can see you have a sense of fashion", Junmyeon said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I know, right? You should get it. It looks good." Junmyeon laughed. "I don’t think so, but I’ll recommend it to Jongdae, he’d probably buy something like this. You can’t spell fashion without Jongdae."

"I think you actually can."

"I know, he’d probably wear this though."

 

The two eventually left that shop and continued walking, Yifan’s hand finding his as soon as he got to walk beside him. "Did you buy your very expensive pen somewhere around here?", Junmyeon asked. "Where do you even buy pens like that?"

"Online, but you could probably buy them in a shop somewhere. I wasn’t really sure what to buy for you without ruining the surprise so I looked through some online shops", Yifan explained. "Luhan suggested I’d get you flowers, but I figured that wouldn’t be very subtle."

"Why not just give me flowers and ask me out?"

"Because, I wanted it to be special and something you’d remember", Yifan replied. "And I was hoping the dedication would increase the chance of you saying yes."

 

A few minutes later the sound of Yifan’s phone stopped them. "Is it the dessert?", Junmyeon asked as he watched the taller pull out his phone. "Yeah. Yixing says it’ll be ready in a few minutes so we should get going."

"Did he say what it was?"

"Yeah, he did, but you’ll just have to wait and see."

 

"Dating you involves a lot of waiting, doesn’t it?"


	24. Chapter 24

A little while later they were back at the restaurant. Yifan let go of Junmyeon’s hand, who almost didn’t let go of his as he was too busy looking inside, so he could open the door for him. It was dark again, the only source of light being the back of the restaurant and the lit candle on the table that hadn’t been there before they left.

"They’re probably in the back, I’ll be right back in a second. You just go ahead and sit down." Yifan disappeared into the back, leaving Junmyeon standing there in the dark. 

 

Junmyeon could hear voices from the back of the restaurant from where he was sitting, just glancing around the restaurant. It was now that he noticed all the tables and chairs were pushed off to the side, leaving only the table he was sitting by. 

"What do you mean doesn’t work?"

"I was mixing the frosting like you told me to, or trying to, but it doesn’t even work. Do you have batteries?"

"It’s not even plugged in. Of course it’s not working."

 

"Luhan! Don’t eat it. It’s for the cake, the cake for my date, not you."

"I was taste testing it. You wouldn’t want to poison your date would you?"

"I trust Yixing. I don’t think he’d poison my date, now stop eating the frost-."

 

"Oh wow, the mixer’s working."

 

The voices stopped and Junmyeon turned to look. What was that about? Cake? Was that the dessert? A cake with frosting? That sounded very good actually. Junmyeon liked cake. Which kind was it though?

He was about to turn back around, but stopped as he noticed Yifan coming back. 

 

"You’ve got a little frosting right here", Junmyeon eventually said after a moment of silence, pointing a finger to his own chin, before slowly making a big circle around his entire face. "Here." He picked up a napkin from the table before standing up. "Take this." 

He walked over so he could hand the taller the napkin. "Thanks. I’ll be right back, I just have to check on our dessert."

"Alright. Just make sure it doesn’t catch on fire this time", Junmyeon jokingly said and the taller smiled, wiping the frosting off his chin. "No promises."

 

Yifan returned a little while later, but not alone. He was followed by two other guys. Junmyeon recognised one of them as the one who had been sitting beside Yifan at the restaurant, but he’d never seen the second guy. They must’ve been Luhan and Zitao. 

"Hi. I’m Luhan, Yifan’s accountant and the reason you’re on this lovely date right here", the one he’d never seen before said, walking over as Junmyeon stood up to greet the two. "If it wasn’t for me you’d be eating pizza and drinking Coca-Cola at some cheap restaurant so you better be thankful."

"He’s just kidding", Yifan said, pulling his chair back and sitting down. "I might not be a good date-planner, but I’d be more romantic than that." Luhan just scoffed. 

 

"It’s nice to meet you", Junmyeon said, smiling politely as he shook his hand. "I’m Junmyeon as you probably already know."

"I do. Yifan hasn’t shut up about you ever since he met you, but I’ve known you as "the cute barista named Suho" for a while-."

"Okay, great, Luhan. You can go now. You have budgets to look at, don’t you?", Yifan said, interrupting him. "Or make or something.." Junmyeon swore he could see a faint pink colour spread across Yifan’s cheeks, but it was difficult to see as the taller’s glass of wine was in the way.

"Excuse me. I’m not at work right now and you should be thankful. I’m the reason you’re here with him."

 

"I’m Zitao", the other male said before the two could continue bickering. "Yifan’s assistant." Junmyeon smiled at him as well as he shook his hand. "Junmyeon."

"And the one who set the dessert in fire." Junmyeon turned around to see Yixing standing there as well, along with Minseok, carrying what must’ve been the cake they talked about. It looked good, covered in frosting and decorated with a few green leaves of some sort.

"It was an accident."

"Uh huh."

The chef moved the candle a bit to the side so he could place the cake down. Minseok placed two plates down as well as some forks and Junmyeon finally sat down again.

 

"What type of cake is this?", Junmyeon asked. The four others had gone back into the back of the restaurant, leaving the two alone with their cake. 

"It’s a lavender cake", Yifan replied. Lavender? Was that planned or was it just a coincidence after the first dessert was caught in fire? "With vanilla frosting."

"As in a lavender vanilla cake?"

"Yeah."

Junmyeon smiled. That was kind of cute actually. A cake with lavender and vanilla, just like the lattes that had gotten them togetherness in the first place. "It looks good. I can’t wait to taste it." Yifan looked up at him and smiled. 

 

Junmyeon didn’t regret going on that date with Yifan.


End file.
